Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, November 6, 2020—Since late October, Iran has seen an exponential increase in the Covid-19 death toll. On October 24, in a televised speech during a meeting of the regime’s Covid-19 Task Force, regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sought to distance himself from the responsibilities of the current dire circumstances. “There has to be a situation in which, those who are suffering from the disease at the early stages are identified and cured. I have been saying to this to the experts and specialists that if this is implemented the death toll would be one-tenth. Regarding the situation, it is so important that we do what we can,” he said according to state TV.
The question is, did Khamenei just realize that the regime can lower the death toll by one-tenth, or had he known this all along and took no action?
The truth is that Khamenei himself is the main reason for the coronavirus expanding across Iran. In the early days of this fatal pandemic, Khamenei said it would be temporary and did nothing to curb it. Instead, he let the virus loose across the country to prevent public outrage and looming protests.
The criminal policies and wrong methods to which the mullahs’ regime resorted to is the major reason behind the spread of this pandemic in Iran.
“In a report, a research center studied our country’s approach in dealing with the pandemic referring to two common and current methods adopted in South Korea, including a comprehensive lockdown and a maximum tests initiative by to partially managed and curb the pandemic,” according to the state-run Resalat daily on October 22. “Iran failed in adopting both methods,” the report adds. “In Iran, neither of two policies were completely and rightly adopted; neither a nationwide lockdown nor in the disease epicenters, nor a maximum test policy and isolation were taken seriously,” the piece added.
“Regarding the death toll, reports over the past two weeks indicate that our death toll was 12 percent out of all coronavirus cases. The global average is around 6.5 percent. This suggests that our death toll is actually much higher compared to the worldwide criteria. These numbers have already been publicized,” said Masoud Younesian, an epidemiologist from Tehran University, acknowledging the death toll and low test quantity.
“Regarding the number of coronavirus cases, Iran ranks 13th in the world while its death toll stands at tenth place. On the other hand, we rank 18th in the number of tests while ranking 117th in the world in the number of tests per capita. That is to say that our tests per capita are far less than the global average,” he added on October 24 in an interview with state TV.
“We should use our experts to find cases and patients who have had contact in their homes with people who have contracted the virus. We must take them somewhere else to isolate them. We must isolate them. This is the state’s responsibility, and the government must help. We must track coronavirus cases. We must find out where is the problem and lockdown contaminated areas. The government must take responsibility and certainly, there would be problems for these people in making ends meet. Therefore, the government must engage and take care of them,” said Mohammad Esmail Akbari, head of the Association of Medical Education on October 26 on state TV.
“That is kind of a fantasy, isn’t it doctor?” the interviewer asked.
“The whole world did so. If we do not take care of the people, the virus will continue to spread and this will end in disgrace for us,” he added.
Surely the regime has long lost its reputation and Iranians know this disgraced regime very well. The mullahs engineer statistics and attempt to portray a very normal situation. All the while Iran is experiencing an increasing death toll and the regime’s corrupt policy has failed, leaving state media and regime officials no choice but acknowledging this catastrophic situation.
June 27 – Yasuj, south-central #Iran
Head of a local hospital says the facility is full of #COVID19 patients.pic.twitter.com/Vd9iU4L1Kq— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 28, 2020
“In our country, despite temporary achievement, the situation does not take its desirable course. Appropriate decisions are either not adequate, or not made at all, or come at inappropriate timings. Most decisions and guidelines have no guarantee to be applied except the president’s decision about not attending the Majlis (parliament). Mr. President, the coronavirus pandemic is expanding across the country and it has become normal to hear of a high death toll each day. The National Covid-19 Task Force looks confused, which means the calamity will continue to hit the country harder. How long will we purport that everything is ok?” asked Majlis member Sadif Badri on October 27, according to the regime’s Khaneye Mellat news agency.
It is crystal clear that the regime’s approach to cloaking the crisis is an attempt to distract public attention and deny any responsibility for the pandemic expansion and its criminal handling of the situation.
The state-run Jahane Sanaat daily wrote on October 28: “State health officials and the National Covid-19 Task Force have repeatedly urged people to wear masks and act according to health guidelines. However, ten months into this fatal pandemic, they have not managed or do not want to provide masks and sanitizers at affordable prices to the lower and middle class… State officials still lay the blame for all the issues on the people, claiming they do not comply with guidelines… If the government kept its promises, whether on the economy or combating coronavirus, the country’s coronavirus curve would be flattening and Covid-19 would not be killing our people so ruthlessly.”
On October 24, the state-run Vatane Emrouz daily also published an article on this topic titled “1600 deaths within five days.”
“Numerous experts advise lockdown and staying at home as the best methods to combat coronavirus. However, the government opposes and avoids imposing such measures. Experts are blaming the government’s policy and decisions as the reason behind an increasing death toll and they believe that the government must be held accountable for the consequences,” the piece reads in part.
Khamenei pretends that he knows nothing of the circumstances in Iran and attempts to distance himself from taking any responsibility for how the pandemic has been addressed. As the regime’s leader and highest authority, Khamenei is the first reason for all of the Iranian people’s miseries and the rising death toll across the country.
Why does Khamenei try to portray himself as a figure who has no responsibility and has nothing to do with this situation?
Clearly, he fears an overflowing of public outrage due to the rising coronavirus death toll.
He better than anybody else is aware of society’s powder keg circumstances, specifically public resentment and outrage due to the regime’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sanandaj, western #Iran
Beheshte Mohammadi CemeteryThe city is in code red conditions. The number of new #COVID19 cases & deaths have increased significantly. pic.twitter.com/TJGv6sYOi2
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) June 30, 2020
However, at the end of the day, Khamenei’s desperate attempts are in vain. Iran’s people are frustrated with the theocratic establishment’s oppression and in their upcoming protests and uprisings, they will think of nothing but ousting the religious fascism ruling Iran. The very sacred demands that are reflected in these slogans during the 2017 and 2019 uprisings:
“Down with Khamenei, Down with Rouhani!” the latter referring to regime President Hassan Rouhani.
“Down with the mullahs’ regime!”
“Moderates, principalists, Game over!”
“Shame on Khamenei, Give up the reign!”
