Official death toll from coronavirus in Iran approaches 2,000; international doctors expelled after Khamenei's remarks

While the death toll from the new coronavirus in Iran is approaching 2,000, the Iranian regime expelled Doctors Without Borders two days after Khamenei's recommendation after rejecting American assistance.

The Leader of the Islamic Republic, who in recent days claimed a biological attack on Iran through the spread of the coronavirus, said: "You may prescribe a medicine, or import it into the country, that will make this virus last and prevent it from ending... Or if you want to send someone as a healer and doctor, he may want to come here and see firsthand the practical effect of the poison they have produced."

This is despite the fact that the United States had offered to help resolve the Corona crisis in Iran, but the Islamic Republic rejected the offer.

Following Khamenei's remarks, Ali Vahabzadeh, advisor to the Iranian Minister of Health, announced in a Twitter post that the presence of Doctors Without Borders in Iran was "ruled out", writing that "with the implementation of the national mobilization plan to combat Corona and the use of the full medical capacity of the armed forces, there is currently no need for foreign forces to set up hospital beds and this presence is ruled out."

Previously, Doctors Without Borders announced on Sunday, April 23, that it was building a 50-bed emergency center in Iran to care for acute cases of the new coronavirus.

Doctors Without Borders is one of the most important international organizations that helps various countries in global crises.

However, the presence of Doctors Without Borders has been met with protests from some hardliners and figures close to Khamenei, including Hossein Shariatmadari, the representative of the Islamic Republic's leader in the Kayhan newspaper. Shariatmadari said in an interview that "sending Doctors Without Borders to our country may be considered pessimistic, but if pessimism is based on caution, it is not only not inappropriate but also a condition of reason."

But in response to these criticisms, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a Tehran MP in the parliament, tweeted in response to the expulsion of Doctors Without Borders from Iran that "the extremists' sensitivity towards the presence of Doctors Without Borders, contrary to their claims, is not due to concerns about a biological warfare plot; their concern is that international cooperation does not create a crack in the wall of sanctions."

The widespread spread of the coronavirus in Iran has now become a crisis that, on the one hand, raises concerns about concealment in announcing the real statistics and, on the other hand, mismanagement of the situation has made it difficult for the people. Insufficient medical equipment and even standard infrastructure have also caused problems in the treatment process in Iran. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had previously said that he had officially offered Iran assistance and hoped that Iran would accept it.

On Monday, April 25, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a statement titled "Khamenei's Lies About the Wuhan Virus Are Putting Lives at Risk," made statements about the Iranian regime's lies and cover-ups regarding the coronavirus.

“The lies of [Islamic Republic] Leader Khamenei about the Wuhan virus are dangerous and put Iranians and people around the world at greater risk. Facts matter,” Mr. Pompeo’s statement said.

The United States has repeatedly condemned mismanagement, institutionalized financial corruption, and the plundering of Iranian assets by the regime's affiliates, calling them among the main causes of Iran's problems and the poor welfare of its people. Not long ago, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted about the Islamic Republic's officials that they were involved in corruption instead of helping the people.

Source: Voice of America