Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani told a Cabinet meeting March 25 that “good steps” have been taken to unblock Iranian cash withheld in different countries due to US sanctions. Iran hopes the relief will help it overcome the ongoing coronavirus epidemic that has mounted an exponential hike over the past five weeks. Rouhani quoted an unnamed nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council as saying that a proposed resolution on Iran sanctions removal was in the works before being presented to the body.

The relief, according to Rouhani, is coming thanks to the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s efforts to “mobilize the world public opinion for a "no to sanctions" campaign. Iran’s top diplomat, Mohammad Javad Zarif, known for his active public diplomacy, has spearheaded the campaign. In his lastest tweet, Zarif urged world leaders to observe a “moral and pragmatic imperative” by defying “US mass punishment.”

Rouhani’s hopes were echoed by the head of Iran’s central bank, Abdolnasser Hemmati. “We have been informed that financial resources frozen due to US pressure could be released … which we will spend on procuring basic supplies, medicine and medical equipment,” he said.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran last month, the country’s officials have complained that US sanctions are significantly impeding the treatment process, leaving patients in need of international aid.