Health Ministry official announces 966 new confirmed cases and 123 deaths in the past 24 hours. While this is the lowest number of new cases in the past week, the number of deaths hasn’t decreased much. At this time the officials raise their concern about the return of travelers from their vacations (Persian New Year holidays). This would cause the spread of the virus even worse.
Total: 20,610
Dead: 1,556
Healed: 7,635
Iran International updated their stat after 2 days and report the total deaths as 3,511 which means 458 within the past 2 days. The most deaths are reported in Tehran, Qom, Isfahan, Khorasan Razavi, Gilan and Alborz.
While the whole country is grappling with COVID-19, and people are dying of mismanagement and corruption of IRGC and the government, all forces are gathered to appeal to human side of the public opinion in order to pressure US into lifting sanctions. Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister of Islamic Republic, has literally said, if the sanctions remain in place, it would kill innocent people. This is a big lie. Many countries, including US has reached out to help and tonnes of supplies have been sent to Iran but unfortunately nothing has reached people or the hospitals. The help aid packages end up in the black market, example:
President Rouhani in an open letter to American people appeal to them. Obviously targeting public opinion to change foreign policy of the US. Zarif and their mouthpiece/lobby in the US, NIAC (National Iranian American Council) haven’t been sitting on their hands either. They’ve started a campaign to pressure the public and statesmen alike. Islamic Republic knows perfectly well that even before COVID-19 crisis the economy was collapsing but they find this as an excuse to rescue their brutal regime and charge their terrorist groups in the region with a fresh line of blood.
NIAC and 25 unknown organizations (with ties to IR regime and NIAC) have sent a letter to President Trump, Secretary Pompeo and Secretary Mnuchin on the same line asking for 120 days of sanction reliefs.
Even Zarif has sent letter to the UN Secretary General begging for interference.
All of these when US has already announced several times that their hand for help has been refused by the IR regime, calling it a show off! But, if the only purpose of lifting sanction is for the help to control COVID-19, why not accept that help? What about all the help other countries are sending, even the cash. Where are all those?
Instead of worsening the crisis by not letting the help reaching hospitals and the people, IR regime is better help innocent people dying of this horrific situation every day. Bartering 82million lives with sanctions, sounds fair, right?!!