An aerial view of flooding in Golestan province, Iran, March 22, 2019. Picture taken March 22, 2019. (Tasnim News Agency/via Reuters)
TEHRAN, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that the United States has blocked international relief aid to Iranian victims over the recent deadly floods.
It is a "crime" of the United States to block the delivery of foreign relief to Iran's Red Crescent Society, Rouhani was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.
Rouhani urged the Iranian Foreign Ministry to sue the U.S. crime.
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also accused the U.S. of putting bans on delivery of international aid to the country's flood-stricken people. He said that the U.S. pressures constituted an act of "economic terrorism."
Since two weeks ago, heavy rains and unprecedented floods in most parts of Iran have claimed the lives of at least 60 people and injured 478 others.
Downpours and floods have also caused massive destruction to the agricultural sector, infrastructure as well as the residential areas.
Besides, tens of villages and cities are still surrounded by high water levels and a number of villages disappeared under the mud and sludge.