Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, January 8, 2021—Over 198,900 people have died of the novel coronavirus in 478 cities checkered across all of Iran’s 31 provinces, according to reports tallied by the Iranian opposition People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) as of Friday afternoon local time, January 8. The official death toll declared by the regime stands at 55,933 around a third of the actual figure.
The coronavirus death toll in various provinces include: 48,681 in Tehran, 13,475 in Razavi Khorasan, 12,440 in Isfahan, 10,005 in Khuzestan, 8048 in Lorestan, 7692 in Mazandaran, 7363 in West Azerbaijan, 4950 in Golestan, 4821 in Sistan & Baluchistan, 4384 in Kerman, 3532 in Yazd, 3396 in Kurdistan. 2452 in Ardabil, and 1454 in Kohgiluyeh & Boyer Ahmed. This is in addition to reports obtained from other provinces.
Infographic-PMOI/MEK reports over 198,900 coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths in Iran
While the number of Covid-19 victims in Iran is reaching the 200,000 mark under the most conservative assessments, regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei specifically expressed his opposition to importing vaccines. He left no doubt that he is the first individual responsible for the killing of thousands of deprived Iranians. “The entry of American and British Covid-19 vaccines into the country are banned. I have told this to our officials and now I am saying it publicly,” he said on Friday. “If the Pfizer company can make the virus vaccine, why do they want to give it us? They should use it themselves and not have such a high death rate… the same goes with the UK,” Khamenei added. “I also don’t trust [vaccines approved by the World Health Organization. I don’t know sometimes they want to check their vaccines on other nations to see if they works or not… I don’t have a good feeling about France either… If [officials] want to procure the vaccine from other places and it is a reliable country, that is no problem,” he continued.
Khamenei then began promoting “domestic vaccines” that are scheduled to be made by foundations under his control. According to the regime’s own experts if they are even usable, they will not be available before late June or July. “The vaccine being prepared for Covid-19 should not be questioned. This is our country’s pride,” Khamenei said. “On one sample it has reached the human testing phase and has been successful. This should not be doubted… It has been successful until now and God willing it will be successful in the future,” he added.
Iranian regime's MP says #Iran's domestic #coronavirus vaccine will not resolve anythinghttps://t.co/jbKipGhq5l pic.twitter.com/SCorxOMjy7
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) December 21, 2020
Considering Khamenei’s remarks “banning the import of vaccines from the U.S. and UK, the issue of importing 150,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine from the U.S. is cancelled,” according to the regime’s Red Crescent spokesperson on Friday. “Currently we are seeking to purchase and import one million doses of this vaccine from China, India and Russia,” this official added, according to the Mehr news agency, an outlet linked to the regime’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).
Khamenei’s brutal remarks were made while Minoo Mohraz, a member of the National Covid-19 Task Force, has voiced specific warnings on this topic. “In late February and March there is a possibility of another significant Covid-19 outbreak. In our country with the winter season started we should anticipate more peaks,” she added on Thursday, according to the state-controlled Khabar Fouri website.
#Iran Coronavirus Update
More than 198,900 people have died of the novel #coronavirus in 478 cities checkered across all of Iran's 31 provinces, according to the Iranian opposition PMOI/MEK.
Full Reporthttps://t.co/JbYOOBZqt8 pic.twitter.com/KukXCmBb2Y
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 8, 2021
“The status quo is completely unstable and fragile. In contrast to most of the provinces, the current trend of Covid-19 in Mazandaran (northern Iran) is on the rise. There were 22 coronavirus fatalities in this province on Wednesday. This issue is very concerning,” said a member of the National Covid-19 Task Force Scientific Committee on Friday, according to the regime's official IRNA news agency.
“Despite the fact that the population in villages are lesser than our cities, 50 percent of the Covid-19 patients in the city of Amol are from rural areas,” said the head of the Amol Health Network on Friday, according to the Javan daily, an outlet linked to the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).
“The number of people being hospitalized for Covid-19 has doubled in comparison to late November. If the status quo continues 80 percent of the stores and businesses across this city will be forced to shut down,” said the mayor of Qaemshahr in Mazandaran province on Thursday, according to the regime’s official IRNA news agency.
“The daily coronavirus death rate is in double-digits once again and 12 people have died in the province of Golestan during the past 24 hours,” said the dean of Golestan Medical Sciences University on Thursday. “The situation in the province is very fragile. The number of coronavirus patients hospitalized in Golestan’s hospitals stands at 427, of which 92 are in ICUs,” this official added, according to the Mehr news agency.
Iran coronavirus outbreak death toll interactive map
