Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, April 11, 2020—Over 25,000 people have died of the novel coronavirus in 263 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 Saturday afternoon local time, April 11. The official death count declared by the regime is 4,357, less than a fifth of the real figure.
The death toll in various provinces include: 3,200 in Tehran, 2,480 in Qom, 2,270 in Khorasan Razavi, 2,150 in Gilan, 1,910 in Isfahan, 1,050 in Khuzestan, 970 in Alborz, 695 in Kermanshah, 650 in Hamedan, 610 in East Azerbaijan, 590 in Lorestan, 515 in Fars, 405 in Kurdistan, 380 in Kerman, 375 in Qavin, 345 in Markazi (Central), 255 in Sistan & Baluchistan, 250 in North Khorasan, 204 in Chaharmahal & Bakhtiari, and 55 in Hormozgan. This is in addition to cases registered in other provinces.
Over 25,000 dead of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Iran
Head of the Qom Medical Science University said 300 patients are hospitalized for severe respiratory difficulties, 19 of whom are children, all suspicious of being infected with COVID-19, according to a report wired on Friday, April 10, by the regime’s official IRNA news agency.
Hossein Ali Shahriari, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) from the city of Zahedan, southeast Iran, criticized the regime on Friday for lifting quarantine measures. “We will experience an even higher peak if we lift quarantine measures too early… In Sistan & Baluchistan positive COVID-19 tests will increase and we have witnessed this trend even in the past few days. We are concerned about an even higher peak in our province. The number of medical professionals losing their lives in the fight against coronavirus is more than during the 1980-88 Iran Iraq war,” he said in an interview with state TV channel five on Friday, April 10.
Despite the escalating death toll, Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani have ordered the majority of the country’s workforce back to their jobs on Saturday.
“What is important in the new phase of the smart social distancing is that this blueprint is being implemented following studies of Iranians’ way of life and adapting to principles adopted by the global health community,” Rouhani said in words aimed at justifying this latest decision. This is actually nothing but victimizing millions of people in order to maintain the mullahs’ regime in power. It has been 40 years since this regime has been claiming in international organizations that they respect human rights based on “Islamic” and “Iranian” models. When translated, this means nothing but massacring political prisoners and opening fire on unarmed and defenseless demonstrators.
Ali Rabie, the spokesperson for Rouhani’s cabinet, wrote an article on why people are being sent back to work claiming, “Preserving people’s lives and putting bread on the table to refrain from coronavirus death and poverty is the government’s main approach.”
“More than 1.5 million official and unofficial workstations had come to a halt. Four million unofficial workers across the country are facing a decrease in activities and lower paychecks… If we shut down the country for a long period, unemployment will surpass the 4 million mark. To compensate their paychecks, based on 20 million rials per month (around $130) for three months, we would need 240 trillion rials (over $1.5 billion),” Rabie added. (Source: IRNA news agency—April 11, 2020)
Another member of the Majlis said, “If we don’t implement lockdowns like other countries, the wellbeing of a large part of the population will be affected, which will have social and security consequences… The implementation of the national lockdown will have costs for the government, which can be provided from the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order Office (Setad), Astan-e Quds, Mostazafan Foundation, the National Development Fund, and even the monthly salary of the members of parliament… If we don’t take the shutdown seriously, our economy will suffer more severe damages.”
The organizations mentioned by this MP are all overseen by Khamenei and account for over $200 billion in value. Yet Khamenei has yet to spend a dollar of his vast fortune to deal with the problems the people are facing in these trying times. Instead, in his latest speech, he called on the people to keep hoping. Meanwhile, Rouhani, at Khamenei’s behest, plans to proceed with reopening the country’s economy and sending people back to work while the spread of coronavirus has not been contained.
Other officials acknowledged the regime’s financial corruption and incapacity in handling crises. The vice president of the Council of Members of Parliament, a group of former MPs, said, “What have the officials done in these 30 years that, despite the $3 billion oil income, the coffers are so empty that the government can’t pay workers for three or four months?”
Yahya Ale Eshaq, former trade minister and the head of the Iran-Iran Commerce Chamber, said, “According to government officials, we have 180,000 trillion rials worth of assets in the government’s possession, which is frozen. We must liquidate these frozen assets so that we can solve problems.”
But the regime’s main concern is the prospects of nationwide protests. The state-run Arman newspaper wrote, “Economic bankruptcy will bring the country to its knees… in a way that economic problems might transform into social riots… The country might be dealing with the coronavirus for the next year, but the economic consequences will remain for years.”
Mostaqel, another state-run paper, warned that the “embers of social protests might flare up from under the ashes again,” and Jahan-e Sanat expressed concern about the “collapse of the nation.”
“After the coronavirus nightmare, how will we avoid the destructive tsunami of the economic corona and its social and political consequences?” Jahan-e Sanat warned.
Iran coronavirus outbreak death toll interactive map
