Brian Hook: The Corona outbreak in Iran is the result of government mismanagement
Brian Hook attributed the coronavirus outbreak in Iran to government mismanagement and said that despite Tehran's refusal to accept US aid, it is still ongoing. The US is also concerned about five of its prisoners contracting the coronavirus in Iranian prisons.
Brian Hook, head of the US State Department's Iran Task Force, said in Paris today that although the "regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran" did not accept the United States' offer of humanitarian assistance to combat the coronavirus, the offer still stands.
According to the Associated Press, Brian Hook, who attended a news conference in Paris on Thursday, March 5, said that the United States has asked Iranian officials to "identify and declare the items and requirements they need," but they have not responded.
According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Health, as of noon on Thursday, March 6, 3,513 cases of the novel coronavirus have been identified in Iran and 107 people have died from the disease. Due to the worsening situation in Iran, the Ministry of Interior has implemented a “Corona Control Plan” in three or four areas of Iran with the highest levels of contamination, starting today. The goal of this plan is to “identify all cases of the novel coronavirus throughout Iran.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the US offer to help Iran combat the coronavirus and share information with it on Friday, March 29. However, he told reporters that Tehran officials viewed the offer with skepticism.
Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, responded to the US offer of assistance by calling it "ridiculous."
Call for the release of American prisoners
The head of the Iran Special Action Force at the US State Department also pointed to the increasing concern of US officials about the spread of the coronavirus in Iranian prisons and said that Iran has been asked to release all Americans imprisoned in the country or send them on medical leave.
Referring to the five American citizens being imprisoned in Iran, Hook added that Washington has initiated efforts through Switzerland as a protector of its interests in Iran. He did not provide further details on this matter.
The high risk of contracting the coronavirus in closed, crowded places has raised concerns among families and some lawyers of political prisoners in Iran about their health. In recent days, these families have asked the head of the judiciary to grant them leave. Lawyers for Fariba Adelkhah, an Iranian-French citizen, and Roland Marchal, a French researcher imprisoned in Iran, have also expressed concern about their clients' infection in Evin Prison.
The judiciary has responded to these concerns in recent days by issuing several circulars, including those regarding granting leave to prisoners, controlling and reducing the entry of new prisoners into prisons, and postponing the execution of final sentences issued until 2024.
Source: DW
