Health & Justice
Iran Sells Confiscated U.S. Oil to Aid ‘Butterfly’ Patients
TEHRAN – Iran has sold a seized U.S. oil cargo and will distribute the proceeds to 771 Iranian patients suffering from Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare genetic condition that causes the skin to become fragile and blister easily, following a court ruling that found U.S. sanctions responsible for restricting their access to essential medical supplies.
Judge Majid Husseinzadeh, head of Branch 55 of the Tehran Legal Court of International Relations, announced Monday that the oil tanker was seized in the Persian Gulf in 2023 and its cargo sold after the court established it belonged to the U.S. government.
The proceeds, estimated at approximately $36 to $37 million, have been deposited into a Judiciary account and are now being distributed to the plaintiffs.
The case was filed by 771 EB patients, supported by EB Home, the only nationwide non-governmental organization representing people with the condition.
The plaintiffs sought compensation for
material, moral and punitive damages resulting from what they described as unlawful U.S. sanctions that prevented access to specialized medical dressings and pharmaceuticals.
Judge Husseinzadeh said the court collected extensive documentation from domestic and international bodies, forensic medicine authorities and non-governmental organizations to establish the direct role of U.S. sanctions in restricting patients’ access to medicine.
“During the proceedings, it was established that the U.S. Treasury Department, through intimidation and the imposition of severe sanctions, had directly or by blocking financial transactions, prevented pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers of specialized dressings from sending medicines and medical supplies to Iran,” he said.
“This action constitutes a clear violation of the fundamental right to access healthcare and medical treatment, which is recognized as one of the basic principles of human rights,” the judge emphasized.
The court issued a detailed ruling exceeding 100 pages, finding the U.S. government’s actions “unlawful and inhumane” and ordering compensation for the resulting damages.
In July 2024, the same court ruled that the United States must pay $6.785 billion in damages to Iranian EB patients and their families over the impact of sanctions.
That ruling followed a lawsuit filed by 295 EB patients and relatives, who argued that sanctions had blocked vital wound care products and medications.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration prepares to unveil what it has described as the “toughest sanctions in history” against Tehran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called the impending measures “the single greatest financial offensive ever marshaled against an adversary” in an op-ed published Sunday.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly boasted about the new sanctions, threatening Iran with what he has termed “economic warfare.”
The terrorist American administration has described the upcoming announcement as an “economic D-Day,” signaling an unprecedented escalation of economic pressure on the Islamic Republic.
Bessent was expected to announce the new measures at a press conference on Monday, targeting Iran’s trading partners including China.
Iranian officials have condemned the new sanctions threats as “economic terrorism” and “crimes against humanity.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei addressed the issue during his weekly press conference on Monday, describing the U.S. campaign as a form of collective punishment against the Iranian people.
“America, which was supposed to come to the aid of Iranians, uses every tool to punish Iranians for one reason only: their insistence on their national sovereignty, independence and dignity,” Baghaei said.
“We have given and continue to give the necessary warnings because any complicity with America in advancing its aggressive actions against Iran will certainly have consequences,” he added.
He also referenced the ongoing naval blockade of Iran, describing it as a “manifestation of aggressive action” and warning that “escalation of this situation will have its own consequences. We are not helpless in the face of such aggressive actions.”
Although Washington and its Western allies claim humanitarian goods are exempt from sanctions, tens of thousands of patients in Iran have died or developed critical ailments over the years due to the unavailability of essential drugs.
Swedish company Mölnlycke, a major producer of medical bandages and healing dressings for EB patients worldwide, stopped transactions with Iran soon after sanctions were reinstated in 2018.
The court found that over approximately eight months after sanctions were reimposed, Iranian EB patients ran out of medicine and ointment to heal their deep skin wounds, resulting in about 20 deaths and irreparable physical injuries for many survivors.
Currently, approximately 1,250 EB patients have been identified in Iran, with EB Home being the only registered organization dedicated to their care.