Pres. Rouhani: Undoubtedly, Iran shone in comprehensive fight against coronavirus

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The President described the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) as the voice of the Islamic Republic system and appreciated the valuable role and presence of the national media in the process of combatting coronavirus, emphasising that the Islamic Republic of Iran and our nation shone in the comprehensive international fight against coronavirus.

Speaking on Monday evening in a meeting with senior managers of the IRIB, Dr Hassan Rouhani stated that the Supreme Leader of the Revolution's endorsement of the resolution on the necessary legal and religious support for the decisions of the National Task Force for Fighting Coronavirus prepared the groundwork for its decisions, adding, "In this resolution, it was emphasised that the resolutions of this task force were equal to the resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council in terms of being binding".

The President stated, "This resolution showed that the legal structure of our country is a structure that can occur on the day of the incident and can resolve problems".

Dr Rouhani said that the enemies were seeking to shut down the country due to the outbreak of coronavirus, and if it were not for the national task force, we would have had a lot of problems, adding, "The obvious reality of the country against coronavirus today is a scandal and discredit for foreign media propaganda and created a trust in the national media".

The President continued by emphasising that the IRIB should be the safe haven and the word of truth should be heard from there, stating, "Of course, the IRIB should also criticise the government and none of us is innocent, but criticism is like salt, which should be consumed enough".

Dr Rouhani emphasised that the provision and strengthening of health infrastructure and the Internet and cyberspace played an important role in the country's success in the fight against coronavirus, adding, "The doubling of the country's health infrastructure over the past 7 years has helped us to allocate 30,000 hospital beds to COVID-19 patients and we did not face any problem with ICU beds anywhere".

Dr Rouhani added, "We will prepare 10,000 more hospital beds and 2,000 more ICU beds by the end of this year".

Pointing out that 16,000 MW of electricity has been added to the country's electricity production capacity in these 7 years, the President described the country's achievements in the field of agriculture and said, "If by transformation in the field of agriculture, the amount of agricultural production from had not risen from 97 million tonnes to 126 million tonnes, we would have faced food shortages these days".

Dr Rouhani clarified, "Given that we are on the verge of entering the new century, it is appropriate for IRIB to compare the 57-year period of the Pahlavi regime and the performance of the Islamic Republic in the last 43 years of this century so that people can see what brilliant achievements the Islamic Revolution has achieved for the country".

The President emphasised, "The government of prudence and hope, in the first two years of its activity, was still facing international sanctions and only in a period from the end of 1394 to the end of 1396, an opening happened in which for the first time in 26 years before that, inflation in the country became single digits and we saw a good boom in the economy".

"But today, despite facing unprecedented and oppressive US sanctions and increasing pressure from the coronavirus pandemic, the government has been able to manage the situation well, and other heads of state and governments have repeatedly expressed surprise about how the government has been able to manage the country under severe sanctions and economic consequences of coronavirus".

Pointing out that according to statistical evidence, we can prove that we have achieved and will fulfil the slogan of Surge in Production under the conditions we are facing, Dr Rouhani said, "Covering hopeful news about the efforts made for the development of the country, the IRIB should promote the vitality and peace that is necessary for the continuation of the spirit of hope and effort in the country".

Referring to the arrival of Muharram, Dr Rouhani stated, "This year, considering the situation in the country where we are facing the coronavirus pandemic, the IRIB has an additional duty to take Imam Hossein's (AS) mourning ceremony and passion into people's homes".

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