Since Donald Trump became President of the United States, the United States has not only left the International Iran Agreement and reintroduced its sanctions on Iran, but also tightened them, last week. Trump calls his strategy "maximum pressure", but because of the corona crisis it is more questioned.

The EU stresses the importance of Iran's access to aid, regardless of the US sanctions, and the UN Head of Human Rights calls for sanctions relief for Iran and others.

"The people in these countries are in no way responsible for the policies that the sanctions are aimed at," Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.

Trump waved the issue off

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Sunday pleaded with other countries not to comply with US sanctions.

"The United States has gone from sabotage and assassination to economic warfare and economic terrorism against Iranians - to medical terror," Zarif said on Twitter.

The US accuses Iran of blaming itself for its own failures. In addition, it is emphasized that the sanctions do not hinder aid. Which is formally true, but in practice they make it difficult to help.

Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo is one of the toughest. At a press conference yesterday he did not rule out that the US could change course, but he also gave no concrete signals about it.

- We evaluate all our policies all the time, so the answer is - could we ever think about? Of course.

Excited for IMF message

Trita Parsi, vice president of the think tank Quincy Institute, has long lobbied against Trump's tough Iran policy. He says the sanctions are exacerbating the corona crisis and also strengthens hard-won conservative elements in Iran.

- The sanctions have significantly weakened the forces that wanted diplomacy with the Western world and reinforced the forces that constantly said that you can not trust the West.

Mark Dubowitz, head of the FDD think tank and a staunch Iranian critic, defends the sanctions.

"When Iranian-backed Shi'ilis in Iraq kill Americans and Britons and others, it would be the wrong time to provide any financial relief to the regime," he told Reuters.

If any American change can happen, it may be soon. Tehran awaits tense announcement of a $ 5 billion emergency loan from the IMF. How the United States acts may be a clue as to whether Trump can be moved by the ravages of the coronation.