Iran’s Rulers Face Wave of Public Complaints Over Coronavirus Response

Iran’s Islamist rulers are facing a wave of public complaints from discontented citizens over their handling of the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Several people who called the “On the Line” program of the Persian service of Voice of America from different parts of Iran on Monday accused the government of responding too slowly to combat the virus, providing misleading information to the public about its spread, and using it against countries it considers enemies.

Iranian authorities have reported that the number of deaths from coronavirus increased from 54 on Sunday to 66 on Monday. The number of infected people jumped from 978 to 1,501. International health experts have said that the relatively high death rate from coronavirus in Iran suggests that responsible authorities are not reporting the full reality.

Several people who called the Voice of America program expressed confusion about public health inspections announced by the Islamic Republic.

A person who identified himself as Naser said: “They want to take revenge on the Iranian people for all the street protests.”

Abdolhamid from Tehran said: “Iranian authorities should have controlled border crossings as soon as they learned about the spread of coronavirus in China. But they prefer that we die so they don’t have to worry about paying subsidies.”

Another caller named Siamak criticized the Iranian government for not accepting America’s offer of assistance in fighting the coronavirus and said: “America is ready to provide us with medicine and medical services needed by the people. Why don’t you accept this help and gamble with people’s lives?”

Source: Voice of America