Mask-clad pedestrians walk past closed shops along a street in Iran's capital Tehran on Nov 21, 2020. (STR / AFP)

TEHRAN - Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education announced on Monday the country is lodging a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the world court, over the "effects of the US embargoes on the Iranians' health."

Whenever Iran wants to import testing kits, vaccines or medical devices, there are obstacles created by the embargoes, Vice Minister Taher Mouhebati was quoted by an official as saying

"The embargoes have harmed the health of the people in various dimensions, and this issue is being pursued through the vice president for legal affairs," Vice Minister Taher Mouhebati said in a virtual press conference, as quoted by official news agency IRNA.

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The Ministry of Health, he added, will provide the necessary documents to the vice president for the follow-up of the issue at the ICJ.

Through its swiping sanctions, the US government has effectively blocked Iran's access to life support systems and medical supplies amid the pandemic, Mouhebati recalled.

Whenever Iran wants to import testing kits, vaccines or medical devices, there are obstacles created by the embargoes, the official noted.

If it was not for Iran's local capacity to produce testing kits and PCR devices, "we would be in real trouble," Mouhebati said.

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In April, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani termed the effects of the US embargoes on medical supplies to Iran as "medical terrorism."