Analysis by PMOI/MEK
Iran, March 4, 2020—With the coronavirus spreading across Iran and having taken the lives of at least 1,200 people, more regime officials are being infected and dying from illness known as COVID-19. Ramezan Pourghassem, head of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Ground Forces counter-intelligence branch, died of the coronavirus in Khomeini Hospital of Sari, north of Tehran. Pourghassem formerly served as the regime deputy communications minister during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s tenure as the mullahs’ president.
Reza Rahmani, Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade in Iran, has also been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19. State media outlets are also reporting that Hossein Sheikholeslam, advisor to the mullahs’ Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, has also been diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Ahmad Tuyserkani, an advisor to the mullahs’ judiciary chief Ibrahim Raisi, has died to the coronavirus. A physician being interviewed in the regime’s state TV said, “The virus will reach everyone… the bad news is that if we don’t listen to the instructions provided, the situation may get completely out of control.
UPDATE 6:00 PM CET:
Regime officials in Iran have cancelled all Friday prayer gatherings for the second consecutive week. This report comes at a time when official numbers acknowledged by the mullahs’ regime indicates 92 COVID-19 deaths and 2,822 people infected with the virus.
Latest reports show two patients in the city of Astaran, northwest Iran, have died of what appears to be the coronavirus.
Report from Behesht Sakineh cemetery – Karaj, west of Tehran:
Tuesday, March 3 – “There are no gravestones. These [coronavirus] patients who have died have been buried in different spots so that no one can find them,” one source says.
Civilian report from the town of Talesh, northern Iran
Wednesday, March 4 – “If the government had imposed quarantine measures prior to the [February 21] parliamentary elections, locals in this city would not be suffering from the coronavirus. Why didn’t they quarantine Qom (known as the epicenter of Iran’s COVID-19 crisis)? And why don’t other cities have any ordinary masks and other basic supplies… People are seen in long lines outside of pharmacies to purchase flu pills and pain relievers, all at very high prices. Youths in different areas of the city are seen collapsing and even dying on the spot. Many people in this city and across the province of Gilan, including doctors and nurses, are infected with the coronavirus, and they’re dying of lack of medicine and medical care. Is there cruelty worse than this….?”
Zahedan, southeast #Iran
Man with coronavirus symptoms collapses and is seen coughing.Over 1,200 people have died to COVID-19 across the country, according to MEK sources.https://t.co/rgm2ywVwRw#Covid_19pic.twitter.com/HmdvfOwUHS
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 4, 2020
Shahabedeen Beemeghdar, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament), made startling remarks about the mullahs’ failures in addressing the coronavirus crisis. “The process in distributing hygiene and medical products is not clear. Factories are producing these products and delivering them to the Health Ministry, yet these items are not distributed to pharmacies and drug stores… once this virus was detected, measures should have been taken while unfortunately the flights to China continued. Preventive measures were unfortunately very late. For example, this virus would not have spread so far if Qom had been quarantined,” he said.
2:00 PM CET:
While regime officials refuse to allocate necessary equipment and personnel to address the coronavirus crisis, World Health Organization Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said while voicing deep concerns about Iran. The coronavirus outbreak in Iran has not gotten any better and is actually getting worse. The shortage of masks and other medical equipment in Iran is far worse in comparison to other countries, the WHO chief added.
Bushehr, southern #Iran
Footage shows boxes of masks being exported to fund the mullahs' regime. All the while, millions of Iranians across the country are desperately searching for medical supplies.#CoronaOutbreak pic.twitter.com/ZBiwIZMXEB— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 3, 2020
Meanwhile, Hamid Baeidinejad, the Iranian regime ambassador to the United Kingdom, pinpointed one of the mullahs’ main concerns. “The network affiliated to the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), through planning a news policy, seeks to place the people before a dead-end.”
Tehran, #Iran
Man explains how the regime's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) is labeling air fresheners as anti-bacterial sprays.The lives of millions of Iranians are at stake & the mullahs are using the opportunity to make huge profits.#coronavirus pic.twitter.com/W4PVRYCaVL
— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) March 3, 2020
A report from inside Iran reads, “One man has died of the coronavirus in the Kapourchal neighborhood of Bandar Anzali (northern Iran) and his wife is very ill.”
In Khorasan Razavi, a province in northeast Iran bordering Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, authorities have declared “code red” as the situation grows very dire.
Reports from the city of Shadegan of Khuzestan Province in southwest Iran indicates two people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and two others are showing suspicious symptoms.
Authorities in Urmia Prison of northwest Iran announced code red in this facility after the seventh coronavirus case was transferred to a hospital.
In Gonbad Kavous, northeast Iran, the staff at Payambar Hospital are reporting serious shortages in medical supplies, especially for those treating patients who are suspicious of being infected with COVID-19.
Despite the outbreak spreading across the country, Iranian regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shamelessly said on Tuesday, “This is not such a major catastrophe and we have had more significant ones." This is a "passing issue" and it is nothing "exceptional,” he added. "Our officials have been informing the public since day one with confidence, honesty, and transparency and have kept the public informed, but some other countries where the virus outbreak is more severe and epidemic are concealing the issue."
Masoud Pezeshkian, first deputy speaker of regime’s Majlis (parliament) and former health minister acknowledged on Tuesday, "We should have quarantined the city of Qom (known as the epicenter of Iran’s coronavirus crisis) from day one… This disease is not a joke… Hospitals are overflowing and there is no room for more patients, and it will get worse day by day. The economy and everything will be ruined. This is no joke. What would have happened if they shut down the country for 15 days? (referring to the first outbreak in the city of Qom). If we did so on day one, it would not have spread to the entire country… The numbers given are not real, because a number of patients have no symptoms. We find 95 people and two die, then we say 2 have died out of a 100, while it may be that only 2% of 10,000 have died,” Pezeshkian said.
Bahram Parsai, a member of the regime’s Majlis, also voiced concerns today. "The reality is beyond the statistics… and if the world does not rush to the aid of our selfless doctors and medical staff, we will all lose."
The Resalat newspaper, an outlet close to Khamenei, wrote a piece shedding more light on the catastrophe in Iran. "We can’t just give false assurances and deny a virus outbreak until February 19, (two days before the regime’s sham parliamentary election) and then suddenly the day after start beating on the drum about how dangerous coronavirus is and the possibility of it spreading across the country."
Ebtekar daily, another state outlet in Iran, ran an editorial on March 2, acknowledging, "What makes each of these crises more critical and more catastrophic is the loss of the public’s trust."
Referring to Khamenei’s disgraceful remarks, NCRI President Maryam Rajavi said, “The only thing that matters for this regime and its officials is to keep their grip on power. People’s lives, health, and resources have no value for the ruling mullahs. The Iranian people have suffered the greatest damage and losses under their rule, as a result of external war, domestic repression, poverty, unemployment, and illnesses.”
