COVID-19 deepens Iran’s isolation, Tehran in crosshair of conflicts

Eslam Mohamed

Despite the late Iranian announcement regarding cases of the deadly coronavirus in the country, the disease spread rapidly, reaping many lives, making Tehran the second largest country in the world in the number of deaths caused by the virus.

According to a chart published earlier on Thursday by the official news agency IRNA, the death toll and number of infected patients stood at 22 and 141, respectively which indicates a considerable jump in the number of diagnosed patients in a few hours.

The chart published by IRNA also indicates that 20 of Iran’s 31 provinces are now battling with the coronavirus outbreak. Two days earlier, only 11 provinces had reported cases of the illness. The chart also indicates that 54 of the patients diagnosed with coronavirus have recovered.

The virus has so far claimed at least 2,800 lives worldwide, the vast majority of them in mainland China and the total number of global infection cases stands at 82,000. This puts the fatality rate at around 3.4 percent while according to the latest figures announced by Iranian authorities the death to infection ratio is 10.6 percent, nearly three times the global ratio.

The inability to deal with the crisis by the government has further infuriated the already-angered citizens who recorded the lowest turnout in parliamentary election since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

International polarization was strongly present in the scene, as China, which is the source of corona, was almost the only country that has confronted American sanctions and represented the lifeline of the Iranian economy, therefore, flights from Tehran to China did not stop.

Moreover, Chinese Ambassador to Iran Chang Hua on Wednesday said China has delivered equipment to Iran to help detect coronavirus cases in the country.

“5,000 kits to detect coronavirus, which are contributed by China’s embassy and Chinese companies in Iran, have been delivered to the Iranian side,” Chang tweeted in Persian language.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said the United States was “deeply concerned” Iran may have covered up details about the spread of coronavirus, and he called on all nations to “tell the truth.”

Regionally, Arab countries closed their borders with Tehran after the arrival of the infected cases, except for Qatar, which only reduced the number of flights to Tehran and announced that all those suspected of being infected with coronavirus would be quarantined for 14 days.

“The United States is deeply concerned by information indicating the Iranian regime may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak in that country,” Pompeo told reporters.

The Iranian government has officially recorded 95 cases in the country, with 15 dead. However, Iranian member of parliament Ahmad Amirabadi Farhani said on Monday that 50 people had died in the city of Qom alone and suggested that coronavirus is far more widepsread in Iran than previously thought. Iran’s Health Ministry rejected Amirabadi Farhani’s number on Monday afternoon, but did up the death toll from eight to 12 on the same day.

Iran’s deputy health minister and a member of parliament, Mahmoud Sadeghi also tested positive for the coronavirus.

President Hassan Rouhani has said .that Iran had no plans to quarantine any “cities and districts” in response to the country’s coronavirus outbreak.

“We must not let America to add a new virus to the coronavirus by halting our social activities by spreading tremendous fear,” said Rouhani, according to state TV.