AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh blasted the United States for imposing illegal sanctions, saying that Washington is responsible for COVID-19 deaths in his country due to impeding Tehran’s oil exports.
Zangeneh said on Thursday that the sanctions illegally imposed by the US have deprived Iran from oil revenues and caused difficulties for the country in fighting the epidemic.
“The US government is responsible for the deaths of over 400 people in Iran per day due to the deadly virus,” he noted.
The Iranian health ministry announced on Thursday that 11,517 new cases of coronavirus infection have been identified across the country during the past 24 hours, adding that 457 patients have passed away during the same period.
"11,517 new patients infected with COVID-19 have been identified in the country based on confirmed diagnosis criteria during the past 24 hours,” Iranian Health Ministry Spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Thursday, and added, "3,149 patients have been hospitalized during the same time span.”
She added that the total number of COVID-19 patients has increased to 726,585.
“Unfortunately, 457 patients have lost their lives in the past 24 hours, increasing the number of the dead to 40,121," the spokeswoman noted.
Lari expressed satisfaction that 541,566 coronavirus patients have recovered or been discharged from hospitals so far.
The spokeswoman further said that 5,614 cases infected with COVID-19 are in critical conditions.
She went on to say that 5,384,988 coronavirus diagnosis tests have so far been carried out across the country.
Lari warned that 31 provinces are still marked red or in the status of alert.
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