New details are revealed about Tehran's ineptness in dealing with the virus • Number of infected persons exceeded 27,000 • Opposition activist called to storm Khamenei's palace: "At least we will die with respect"
Epidemic in Iran: The official death toll from Corona's disease in the Islamic Republic rose Wednesday to 2,206 and the country has 27,017 people, the local health ministry reported.
Social networks in the country were filled with videos showing large convoys of Revolutionary Guards trucks being disinfected as they entered major cities in the country to try to stem the spread of the virus. Iran announced a partial closure of the economy, and a closure to most of the population only last weekend, more than a month after the outbreak of the virus in the country, when the death rate has already reached about 10 people per hour.
The US foreign policy magazine today revealed how Iranian officials from China have allowed airlines to continue leading other outbreaks in the country, despite an official government decision to stop flights from China in January, despite protests from local officials and lawmakers. The reason for the puzzling decision is probably that China is among the few countries that are violating US sanctions on Iran, and is trading on a large scale with the Islamic Republic.
The US magazine also shows evidence that Iranian leaders were aware of the outbreak of the virus in the holy city of Qom, long before the country's media outlets began reporting it on February 18. The testimony included allegations that Supreme Leader Khamenei's men banned senior clerics from being near him or kissing him for more than a week before the outbreak was announced. Apparently, this is a sign that the authorities in the state knew that the virus had already burst on the pilgrimage sites that millions visit every year, and did nothing to shut them down or check on the pilgrims.
In the meantime, Hashmatulla Tabarazdi, a human rights activist and a well-known opposition man in the country, has uploaded a video on which he openly calls, from his home in Tehran, to overthrow the regime. In his less than two-minute film, the opposition man urges the masses to storm the palace of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei due to his failed handling of the country's corona epidemic.
"If we are doomed to die because of the Corona epidemic, we must enslave the spiritual leader's palace and knock him over his head.