Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, April 13, 2020—Over 27,000 people have died of the coronavirus in 267 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 Monday afternoon local time, April 13. The official death count declared by the regime is 4,585, nearly a sixth of the actual figure.
The death toll in various provinces include: 4,300 in Tehran, 2,220 in Gilan, 1,860 in Mazandaran, 1,120 in Khuzestan, 790 in East Azerbaijan, 720 in Hamedan, 577 in Ardabil, 570 in Fars, 390 in Markazi (Central), 300 in North Khorasan, 300 in Sistan & Baluchistan, and 210 in Ilam. This is in addition to the figures reported from other provinces.
Over 27,000 dead of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Iran
One physician in Tehran’s Baghiatollah Hospital says at least four out of five people dying of coronavirus are registered as severe respiratory disorders. Many COVID-19 patients who suffer a heart attack or can no longer breathe are registered as deaths due to heart attacks. Many other coronavirus patients are released from hospitals prior to their recovery and without taking any precautions, which leads to even further spread of the deadly virus.
April 12 – Tehran, #Iran
More reports of people collapsing due to coronavirus as regime officials order millions of people back to work despite ongoing pandemic.#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/qanCCDTWZD— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 13, 2020
Hassan Khalilabadi, a member of Tehran’s City Council warned of the situation in Shahr-e Rey, an area south of the Iranian capital. “Kahrizak [in Shahre-Rey] is a hotspot of the coronavirus spreading… A number of the COVID-19 victims have been buried in the old cemeteries of Shahr-e Rey… Two such victims have reportedly been buried in the Hazrat Abdolazim shrine which places a large number of the people there in danger,” he said.
Another Tehran City Council member said, “The death toll that at least we know about in Tehran is nothing similar to what is being officially announced in the country’s numbers.”
Hosseinali Haji-Doleighani, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament), wrote a letter to the regime’s Finance Minister that around 3,000 bank employees have been infected with coronavirus and 42 have lost their lives, according to a report published on April 12 by the state-run Hamshahri daily.
Head of Tehran’s Taxi Drivers Management and Observatory Organization said 302 taxi drivers are suffering from coronavirus.
People in their homes and across the city are ridiculing the regime’s so-called “smart social distancing” plans as nothing but placing people’s lives in even more danger. Even the regime’s own experts oppose ordering people to return to work ever since this Saturday under such a bogus pretext of “smart social distancing.”
“I believe the smart social distancing method that we are witnessing now is doomed to fail in controlling the COVID-19 epidemic, and the number of deaths and cases remains very alarming,” said the head of the regime’s Medical Apparatus Organization General Assembly. (Resalat daily, April 13)
Abdolreza Azizi, chair of the Majlis Social Committee said, “I presented a plan to shutdown the country in the Majlis. If we refuse to take such measures the novel coronavirus will become a chronic disease in our country and the social, psychological, health and economic consequences will be far worse than if we shutdown the country… if we refuse to take such measures and not provide for the public’s daily necessities, the chain will never break.” (Hamshahri, April 13)
Two days after the regime started its so-called “smart distancing” plan, streets, metros, and buses have become filled with impoverished people who must face the risk of contracting COVID-19 to make ends meet. In contrast, two months after the official declaration of the coronavirus outbreak, regime officials and state-linked millionaires are enjoying their lives in full quarantine and in the safety of their homes. This is all happening while financial institutions overseen by Khamenei can fully cover the costs of living for the millions of workers, public-sector employees, and other hardworking and needy members of the Iranian society to avoid sending them back to work.
This is a reality that even some of the regime’s own officials who fear the resurgence of nationwide uprisings have been warning about in the past few days. Yesterday, Massih Mohajeri, one of the managers of the Jomhuri-e Eslami (Islamic Republic) newspaper, which is funded by Khamenei, said, “If the Setad, Mostazafan Foundation, and Astan-e Quds Foundation use their vast financial resources to help the segments of the society that have been damaged due to the coronavirus outbreak, their problems will be completely solved in the shortest time.”
The state-run Arman daily acknowledged, “In addition to confiscated properties, the Mostazafan Foundation has over 12 holdings and 175 companies in its possession.”
Khamenei's financial empire is estimated to be worth over $200 billion.
Meanwhile, the situation continues to worsen for the country's health workers. The head of the Nurses Organization said, “Our nurses have high spirits. But our equipment is not enough. On the other hand, we are very very few. The president has said time and again that 20,000 nurses will be hired. But to date, only 5,000-6,000 have been hired, and after the beginning of the outbreak, another 3,000 were added. If we don’t add new people to our ranks, our nurses will be exhausted. We were already faced with a chronically bad situation before the coronavirus crisis. The salaries of our nurses have been delayed by 12 months on average.” (Source: Etemad Daily)
The situation in the country’s prisons is especially critical. Every day, more and more prisoners contract COVID-19. The virus has become contagious in Zahedan and Tabriz prisons. In recent days, two prisoners in Ghezel Hesar Prison (Karaj) and four prisoners in Urmia have lost their lives to COVID-19.
Iran coronavirus outbreak death toll interactive map
