As the death toll from the "horrific" earthquake that struck the Iran-Iraq border earlier this week climbs above 500, and as President Donald Trump remains entirely silent on the matter, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and four Democratic senators sent a letter on Thursday to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson demanding that the White House waive certain sanctions on Iran and allow aid to reach those desperately in need.

"After earthquakes in 2003 and 2012, the United States demonstrated its compassion and goodwill by offering assistance to the Iranian people and allowing private relief donations," the senators wrote. "This time should be no different."

While the 7.3 magnitude quake affected both Iran and Iraq, Iran bore the brunt of the overall destruction and casualties.

Under the current sanctions regime, Iranian-Americans living in the U.S. are prohibited from delivering funds to their friends and family members. As Al Jazeera reported on Thursday, several attempts by Iranian-Americans to set up fundraisers for Iran in the days following the earthquake have been stymied by U.S. Treasury Department rules.

"The way it is now, it is extremely difficult," Tara Kangarlou, a New York-based Iranian-American journalist, said of the economic restrictions. "These are the moments that you realize how political tug of war are hurting ordinary Iranians."

As for official U.S. government assistance, the Trump White House has been relatively quiet; the Treasury Department called the quake "tragic" in a statement to the Associated Press, but did not say whether the administration plans to mount any kind of response. Trump, himself, has not said a word about the quake, which Sanders and his Democratic colleagues noted was "the world's deadliest of the year."

In addition to killing hundreds and injuring over 9,000, a report from European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations found that the tremor damaged 12,000 buildings in Iran and Iraq.



Shortly after the earthquake struck, Sanders highlighted the "growing tensions" between the U.S. and Iran—particularly following Trump's decision to decertify the Iran deal—and argued that providing relief to the Iranian people following such a devastating event "would be an important act of friendship."

Read the senators' full letter: