U.S. sanctions deprive Iran's EB children of special wound dressings: NGO chief

TEHRAN, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. sanctions have prevented the Iranian children suffering epidermolysis bullosa (EB) from accessing special wound dressings needed to keep them alive and reduce pain, said the CEO of an Iranian non-governmental organization responsible for supporting the EB patients.

Managing Director of EB Home Hamidreza Hashemi Golpayegani made the remarks in an interview with Iran's Mizan news agency, which was published on Monday.

He blamed the U.S. "illegal and undocumented" sanctions for preventing Iran from importing the special dressings, which are the most essential requirement of those patients.

Golpayegani noted that between May 2018 and May 2019, 15 EB patients died in Iran due to a lack of access to the dressings.

EB patients are often referred to as "butterfly children" because their skin is as fragile as a butterfly's wings. According to official statistics, about 800 EB patients have been registered in Iran.

The U.S. sanctions against Iran have intensified since 2018, the year when Washington pulled out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

Following the reimposition of the U.S. sanctions, a Swedish company stopped selling its special medical dressings to Iran.

Golpayegani noted the Swedish company sent a written apology, promising to prepare the ground for sending the dressings and removing the obstacles posed by the sanctions.

Although the United States claims that humanitarian items, including medicine and foodstuff, are not included in the sanctions list, its embargoes on Iran's oil exports and banking sector have, in practice, prevented the country from importing such goods.