Calls mount to lift US sanctions on Syria

As the rescue effort was underway in quake-hit regions, the Syrian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday slammed the US sanctions for blocking the humanitarian work and rescue operations in the war-torn country.

In a statement, the ministry said that the Syrians, while dealing with the earthquake catastrophe, are digging among rubbles with their own hands or using the simplest tools as the equipment for removing the rubbles is banned by the US sanctions.

It also said that the Syrians are also denied access to medicines and medical equipment that would help them face dangers and diseases.

Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) President Khaled Hboubati on Tuesday called for lifting the US and Western sanctions on Syria to facilitate relief efforts as the country is in dire need of rescue equipment.

Speaking at a press conference in Damascus, the Syrian capital, Hboubati stressed that the SARC needs equipment, ambulances and heavy machinery, but "the main obstacle is the sanctions imposed on Syria, which we demand to be lifted immediately."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called on different countries to pressure the US to lift the sanctions on Syria.

The ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani made the remarks in an exclusive interview with the semi-official Mehr news agency on Monday, parts of which were released on Tuesday.

He urged other countries to force the US to lift the siege of the Arab state so that international humanitarian aid can be delivered to the quake-stricken people without any obstacle and at the shortest time.