The Human Rights Council this afternoon held an interactive dialogue with Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, who said that the COVID-19 pandemic had added to a myriad of economic, political and social challenges in Iran. He was concerned that sanctions had in part hindered the Government's efforts to counter the pandemic, echoing calls to ease the sanctions. The Government's "inadequate and opaque" response to the pandemic had exacerbated its impact, resulting in over 60,000 deaths as of 1 March 2021.