Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, April 10, 2020—After an 18-day absence, Iranian regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei made his first appearance on national television on Thursday, April 9. But he did not mention the national disaster of COVID-19, nor the countless victims of coronavirus. He did not even express his condolences to the families of more than 23,000 victims of the dangerous virus. He did not even show empathy about such a tragedy, about the poverty and the death that COVID-19 has left in its wake and the anxiety of millions of Iranians. Instead, he tried to downplay the COVID-19 crisis and frame it as insignificant.
“In comparison to other problems, this is very small. In two big world wars, 10 million people died and in the coronavirus situation, they say that 1 million have died around the world,” Khamenei said. So desperate he was that he gave false stats. Later in the day, Khamenei quickly recorded a follow-up video to correct his remarks.
However, it shows that 1 million deaths are insignificant for him, which is expectable of the leader of a regime whose nonsensical eight-year war on Iraq cost the lives of more than 1 million people.
Khamenei’s main concern
Khamenei’s main aim was to emphasize the end of the nationwide quarantine while the COVID-19 situation has not been handled and to send back workers to work under the pretext of a surge in production. “The issue of a surge in production is vital and should not be forgotten at any cost,” Khamenei said.
“We should also not neglect the conspiracies and enmity of the Arrogant Powers,” Khamenei continued by showing his fear for the coronavirus consequences.
“Of course, officials may announce something to the people, which they have doubts about, and the people may come to the conclusion that it is not necessary to do it. However, when something is announced firmly, the people cooperate… the National Committee on Combating Coronavirus should be taken seriously and followed,” Khamenei emphasized.
It is worth noting that many of the regime’s own officials have warned against reopening the country’s economy and the consequences it will have on the spread of the virus. But Khamenei and regime president Hassan Rouhani have been adamant in their decision to put an end to the quarantine because the alternative would be to support the people’s livelihoods from the regime’s vast financial resources while workers can’t go to work.
Last week, Khamenei ruled out a parliament bill to extend the lockdown, and Rouhani has repeatedly neglected remarks and warnings by his own health officials.
Confirming fake statistics
Khamenei also confirmed the false statistics provided by Rouhani’s government on COVID-19 death toll by saying, “About statistics, many good things have been said and the national radio and television acted very well.”
The latest death toll reported by the government is 4,110, less than a fifth of what the MEK’s network inside Iran has been able to confirm.
Instead of helping poor people and those hit by the coronavirus or the flood from his vast economic empire, which spans across hundreds of billions of dollars stolen from the Iranian people by his regime, Khamenei only said to “those whose lives are difficult” to keep hope and wait for relief.
Khamenei’s remarks remind his intervention during gasoline tripling of gasoline price issue in which he ruled out a Majlis (Parliament) attempt to roll back the government’s decision. In this case, he also ruled to end the quarantine and send workers back to factories.
But the question is, will this solve his regime’s crises, or will it backfire on Khamenei and weaken his position and destabilizes his regime more than before?
Two realities Khamenei acknowledged
Khamenei’s remarks acknowledge two realities. First, the regime is in a deadlock in handling the country’s economic and social problems. Second, the people’s lives have absolutely no value to the criminal supreme leader of the Iranian regime and his main concern is to maintain his regime at any cost. But can he succeed? Time will tell.
In this regard, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said: “Once again, Khamenei demonstrated the clerical regime’s deadly impasse and his regime’s disregard for people’s lives. He made it clear that he is only concerned with preserving the ruling theocracy. As always, Khamenei sought to divert people’s attention from the regime’s crimes in the Coronavirus disaster by invoking to enemies and foes conspiracies. This is while 80 million Iranians are living under the pressure and repression of the mullahs’ regime.”
In his speech today, Ali Khamenei tried to divert people’s attention from the clerical regime’s crimes during the #Coronavirus outbreak to the “conspiracies” by “enemies” and “the Arrogance”, while 80M Iranians are suffering under the mullahs’ oppressionhttps://t.co/9c7DtZ43rx
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) April 9, 2020
