Chinese medical team members meet with Iranian medical experts in Tehran, Iran, March 7. Photo: Xinhua

Iran's president said on Wednesday the US had missed a historic opportunity to lift sanctions on his country during the coronavirus outbreak, though he said the penalties had not hampered Tehran's fight against the infection.

"It was a great opportunity for Americans to apologize ... and to lift the unjust and unfair sanctions on Iran," Hassan Rouhani said in a televised cabinet meeting.

"The sanctions have failed to hamper our efforts to fight against the coronavirus outbreak."

Friction between Tehran and Washington has increased since 2018 when US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with six nations and re-imposed sanctions, crippling its economy.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the possibility that the US might consider easing sanctions on Iran and other nations to help fight the coronavirus, but gave no concrete signs it plans to do so.

The comments reflected a shift in tone by the US State Department, which has come under withering criticism for its hard line toward sanctions relief even in the face of a call by the UN secretary-general to ease US economic penalties.

Washington is pursuing a "maximum pressure" policy to try to force Tehran to curb its nuclear, missile and regional activities.

Iran has accused the US of "medical terror," prompting Pompeo's spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus, on Monday to tweet: "Stop lying. ... It's not the sanctions. It's the regime."

France, Germany and Britain have exported medical goods to Iran in the first transaction under a trade mechanism set up to barter humanitarian goods and food, Germany said.

Reuters