US pouncing on coronavirus outbreak to exert more pressure on Iran: Shamkhani

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani denounced the US government for trying to use coronavirus outbreak in the country as a means to pound psychological warfare on Tehran.

The US was using the new coronavirus as a strategy to complete its "maximum pressure" policy against Tehran, Shamkhani said in a Persian tweet on Tuesday.

Shamkhani said the US was putting psychological pressure on countries to shut their land and air routes to Iran, also describing propagating lies as Washington’s new roadmap in its anti-Iran campaign.

Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that the United States was "deeply concerned" Iran may have covered up details about the coronavirus outbreak, and he called on world countries to "tell the truth" about the epidemic.

"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, also criticizing Beijing for what he claimed as the censorship of media and medical professionals.

"All nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations," he added.

The virus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. It causes cold- and flu-like symptoms, including cough and fever, and in more severe cases, shortness of breath. It may also worsen to pneumonia, which can be fatal.

According to the World Health Organization, the epidemic has killed more than 2,600 people and infected more than 77,000 others in China. But the situation has worsened elsewhere with nearly 2,700 other cases and more than 40 deaths globally.

In Iran, the virus showed up in the north-central city of Qom, where it has claimed its most victims. In all, the spread has taken 15 lives across the country and infected as many as 95 others.

Iranian medical officials have assured that Iran would, in the near future, rein in the outbreak, noting that the condition of most of the patients diagnosed with the virus had improved.

According to a report from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, 95 people in the country have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

Unfortunately, coronavirus has claimed the lives of 15 people in the country up to the present time, said Spokesperson of the Health Ministry Kianoush Jahanpour on Tuesday.

Head of the Iranian Health Ministry's Center for Infectious Diseases Mohammad Mahdi Gouya had announced on Monday that medical centers across the country have performed around 1750 diagnostic tests for coronavirus in the last week.

“Since last Monday that we have been provided with diagnostic kits we have performed around 1750 tests for coronavirus,” Gouya declared, reassuring that with modern equipment and state of the art medications almost all patients diagnosed with the virus are getting improved.

Meanwhile, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami said on Monday that the IRGC is ready to help the Health Ministry in the national campaign against the epidemic.

Earlier on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said that border closures with some neighboring countries and travel restrictions imposed by some countries are temporary, and reassured that border gates and travel routes will get normalized after the situation grows stable.

The epicenter of the outbreak is the Central city of Qom and official reports have so far showed that the virus has been contained in the Central city. All those diagnosed with coronavirus infection in Iran are a citizen of Qom or have had a travel to the city.

As a preventive measure, Iranian authorities have ordered a week-long closure of educational and cultural institutions across over 10 provinces as of Tuesday.

These provinces include Qom, Markazi, Gilan, Ardabil, Kermanshah, Qazvin, Zanjan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Hamadan, Alborz, Semnan, Kordestan and the capital, Tehran.

Spokesman for Tehran's Department of Education Masoud Saqafi said the decision was made to "prepare schools" which have to be disinfected and sanitized.

Tehran’s Mayor Pirouz Hanachi said Sunday that all the city’s public places, including the metro trains and buses, are being disinfected every night as part of attempts to contain the spread of the virus.

Head of Food and Drug Administration Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz also said that pharmacies will no longer be allowed to sell protective masks and that masks will be distributed among the population via government-run centers free of charge, with the priority given to virus-hit provinces.

Iran's Minister of Science, Research, and Technology Mansour Qolami called on all university deans to make every effort to maintain a calm atmosphere and adopt effective measures to prevent the virus from spreading.

The death toll from the novel coronavirus has risen to 2,698 worldwide, with the vast majority of those in mainland China. The total number of global cases stands at over 80,000.

South Korea now has more than 890 coronavirus cases nationwide. Europe's biggest outbreak is in Italy, where seven people have died and there are over 220 infections, with restrictions imposed on some municipalities. Iran has reported at least 60 cases and 12 deaths.

The coronavirus can cause various illnesses, ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as pneumonia. Common signs of the infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, coughing, shortness of breath, and other breathing difficulties.

On Tuesday, Head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali condemned some foreign media misinformation campaign on the outbreak of coronavirus in his country, saying that the media hype is aimed at instilling disappointment among the masses.

General Jalali said that under the current circumstances the enemy's propaganda is mostly focused on accusing Iran's healthcare system, inducing inefficiency and intimidating the Iranian people.

The official said that the containment and control of the coronavirus epidemic would make sense in two dimensions of field reality and public opinion, stated that fortunately, in recent days a national resolve and coordination at the highest level of management of the country has emerged resulting to containment of the coronavirus's outbreak in the country.

Jalali explained the enemy's propaganda campaign in the current situation is to accuse the healthcare system for lying, such as publishing false statistics on the situation of the patients, creating a statistical contradiction between the officials' statements, and second, inducing inefficiencies in the country's healthcare system, such as incorrect comparisons between the level of action by Iran and other countries, the magnification of deficiencies, the removal of positive and promising news, and, thirdly, the creation of public fear and panic in the nation's medical staff by spreading inaccurate news, exaggerating the death toll, and the like.

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