Iranian cleric accuses doctors of supporting drug markets of enemies in battle against COVID-19

Nora Bendary

While the whole world is seeking to support doctors and medical staffs in their battle against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19),  Iran is going the other way.

Iranian authorities have started attacking doctors and accusing them of “supporting the economy of enemies,” by promoting their pharmaceutical products to face the virus.

“What our doctors have learned is the science imposed by the West and the enemies, and the efforts of the doctors will only strengthen the drug market for the enemies,” said Iranian cleric Ghiath Al-Din Taha Mohammadi, representative of Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei, in the western Hamadan province.

Mohammadi added that “the Islamic and traditional demand in Iran must be strengthened, and this demand must be institutionalized.”

This comes as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a speech carried by Al-Alam TV channel, “Our health is good compared to developed countries,” despite that the number of infected has reached 47,877, according to the latest official figures, Tuesday.

Iran’s death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak in the country has reached 4683, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a statement on state TV.

Worse still, Tehran has rejected the offer of medical help by a team sent by the renowned international non-governmental group, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) or Doctors Without Borders.

Earlier on March 22, MSF had sent a consignment of medical aid to Iran, including one field inflatable hospital, medicines, respiratory masks, and protective clothing.

Meanwhile, MSF said in a tweet, “Iran is by far the hardest-hit country in the region and Ispahan (Isfahan) is the second most affected province in the country, and we hope that our aid will relieve, at least in part, the pressure on the local health system.”

The tweet was followed by another one, expanding on the aid, “MSF sent a 50-bed inflatable hospital and a 9-person emergency team to the second most affected province in Iran.”

However, a day later, an advisor to the Islamic Republic Minister of Health, Alireza Vahhabzadeh, tweeted that since the national mobilization for confronting COVID-19 is underway.

“The Iranian Armed Forces’ medical capabilities are entirely at its service, Iran did not need hospitals established by foreigners. Therefore, the MSF presence in Iran is irrelevant,” he added.

Iran also refused U.S. assistance in March to fight the virus, citing an unfounded conspiracy theory that the virus could be man-made by America.

Iranian social media activists, on the other hands, have launched online campaigns to thank and support the country’s medical staffs and their efforts in combating the pandemic.

Masoud Ibrahim Hassan, an academic who specializes in Iranian affairs, indicated that Iran presents a new oppressive model in dealing with its doctors, and instead of support, we find oppression and injustice.

Hassan further added that Mohammadi is one of the wealthy in Iran, and lives in his mansion isolated from the poor people, accusing the doctors who fall every day because of the virus that has spread in Iran, instead of providing actual or even moral support, and instead he slanders the doctors of his country.

He also adde in an interview with The Reference that the Iranian regime is the main reason behind the spread of the virus, starting from the legislative election that it insisted on holding despite international warnings, and also insisted on keeping airlines with China open to achieve certain gains at the expense of the Iranian people’s health.