US sanctions may be as deadly as war, Iran warns after Lancet study

Western sanctions, long portrayed as a “bloodless” alternative to war, may in fact claim as many lives as armed conflict, a new study published by The Lancet suggests.

According to the research, unilateral sanctions, particularly those imposed by the United States, have been linked to more than 500,000 deaths annually since the 1970s, with the majority of victims being children and the elderly, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on X, citing the study, Caliber.Az reports. 

Western regimes have long claimed that sanctions are a bloodless alternative to war.

Reality check: New study by @TheLancet says unilateral sanctions, particularly by the US, may be as lethal as war. 500+k lives claimed annually since 1970s, mostly children and the elderly.… pic.twitter.com/02tIQiAFA5

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) August 13, 2025

“High time for inhumane sanctions imposed by the US and its accomplices to be recognized as crimes against humanity,” he wrote.

He urged nations targeted by sanctions to coordinate and develop a unified, collective response.

The Lancet study published on August 1, 2025,  revealed that despite reforms aimed at minimising humanitarian harm, the use of economic sanctions has expanded significantly in recent decades, with one-quarter of countries under some form of sanctions between 2010 and 2022.

By Sabina Mammadli