Ministry of Health: Sending medical equipment to other countries is a rumor
The Ministry of Health called the sending of medical equipment to fight the coronavirus to other countries a rumor. A university affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard and the student Basij announced that they had donated test kits and medical equipment to the American people.
Kianoush Jahanpour, head of the Ministry of Health's Information Center, called the sending of medical equipment and supplies to other countries a "rumor" and said that Iran currently needs these protective items against the coronavirus more than any other country.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Health "officially and in cash" purchases all production or imports related to these equipment and supplies, adding: "These items have not been officially sent to any country, and we have even imported these items into the country through every possible route and we will continue to do so."
The head of the Ministry of Health’s information center is reacting to news that was published in the past 24 hours on some conservative websites and news agencies close to the Revolutionary Guards. However, Jahanpour did not properly specify what was meant by not sending “officially.” Is he implicitly approving the alleged action of Baqiyatollah University in sending aid to the United States?
On April 1, the Young Journalists Network affiliated with the state-run Iranian Radio and Television reported in a short news report, quoting Hadi Zuhairi, public relations officer for the Baqiyatollah University of Medical Sciences, which is run under the supervision of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, about the "donation of Iranian-made test kits" to the United States.
Zuhairi had said: "We are enemies of the American government, not its people, and the kits were delivered to the Swiss embassy."
Some users had mixed reactions to this news.
Previously, the head of the Student Basij Organization had also said that Basij students had prepared a shipment of self-made hygiene items to donate to the "oppressed people of America."
According to Mohammad Javad Nikroosh, this shipment will be delivered to the US Interests Office in Tehran.
He claimed that the Basij forces are ready to “help Americans who cannot provide for their basic needs today.”
To date, no report has been published by officials at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests in Iran, regarding the receipt of these shipments.
In recent days, Mustafa Mirsalim, a fundamentalist figure in the Islamic Coalition Party and a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, had also written on Twitter: "We express our sympathy to the oppressed people of America who have been caught in the Corona crisis due to lack of resources, but it is a pity that the cruel sanctions of the spiteful American government prevent us from providing assistance."
Many conservative websites and news agencies close to the Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran have covered these issues in recent days. Reactions from users on social media such as Twitter have also been mixed.
The spokesperson for the Coronavirus Response Headquarters at the Ministry of Health, in his explanation today, without mentioning the publication of this news on these sites and news agencies, only referred to "cyberspace" and assessed their content regarding the sending of medical aid as incorrect and "creating a climate against the country."
Jahanpour considered it impossible to transport this medical equipment and items "given the restrictions on flights, ships, and land travel," and said that this could be done "through smuggling" and "smuggling out of the country," which is also considered a violation and can be prosecuted.
According to Jahanpour, Iran's assistance to other countries is possible when domestic needs regarding COVID-19 are met and all countries accept their shared responsibility to share and help each other.
Source: DW
