Death toll rises on coronavirus in Iran

The COVID-19 infection has spread the whole way across Iran, affecting every province. It has been detected in 294 cities and reports by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran) indicate that more than 30,000 people have died.

The Iranian regime, on the other hand, is claiming that only 4,777 people have died after contracting COVID-19 (as of Wednesday 15^th April). This is just a fraction of the death toll announced by the main opposition to the Iranian regime, the PMOI / MEK Iran which has been in contact with health professionals across the country to establish the reality of the situation.

In Tehran alone, there have been at least 4,970 deaths and at least 2,810 in Qom.

The number of new deaths every day continues to rise dramatically, yet the Iranian President is trying to convince the people, and the international community, that Iran has the crisis under control. President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that no Iranian has been turned away from a hospital because of a lack of beds and he even claimed that intensive care units have not been overloaded with patients.

During his speech, President Rouhani also said that the “enemy” is spreading propaganda about the government’s response to the outbreak, but said that it is all false and simply an attempt to “terrify the people”.

However, the “enemy” that Rouhani is referring to is the opposition. The opposition has been working in the interests of the people for decades, helping them out in times of crisis like this. The opposition has overwhelming support inside Iran, more so now that it has become very clear that the regime is working against the people – not for them.

Even officials across the country are questioning Rouhani’s optimistic outlook on the health crisis with many saying that the situation remains critical. Alireza Raisi – the country’s deputy health minister – said that the number of deaths is certainly much higher than the number projected by the government, saying that it is accurate that around 800,000 people have contracted COVID-19. He said:

“What’s for sure is that the number of cases we’ve discovered are not real (…) The real number of cases is higher.”

In Tehran, the head of the Coronavirus Task Force Alireza Zali said that the peak has not yet been reached in the city. He said that because of the high population in the city, Tehran is now considered the epicenter of the virus.

Furthermore, experts are warning that there will probably be a second wave of the virus, however, it has been agreed by scientists all over the world that this is not certain because of the uncertainty regarding the progress of the virus.

The Center for Parliamentary Research in Iran has compiled a report about the outbreak, saying that they expect the virus to return in full force later in the year. It also states that the number of deaths is around 8 to 10 times higher than the regime’s official figures.