Evidence of the Islamic Republic's officials' concealment: Khamenei knew about the coronavirus outbreak as early as February 16

The release of a video of an individual talking about special protective measures to prevent Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Republic, from contracting the coronavirus, before the official announcement of cases of the virus in Iran, has revealed new dimensions of the regime's concealment regarding when the authorities became aware of the existence of cases of the virus in Iran.

One of the eulogists who participated in the meeting with the Leader of the Islamic Republic on February 16 has revealed that they were not allowed to approach Seyyed Ali Khamenei and kiss his hand during the meeting, as it was necessary to “save his life.” This comes despite the fact that the presence of coronavirus in Iran was officially announced on February 20, after the deaths of two citizens in Qom.

Previously, the publication of photos of this meeting, which showed Ali Khamenei at an unusual distance from those present, had become controversial on social media, and now Nariman Panahi has explicitly mentioned in a video that was released that there were precautionary measures to protect the leader of the Islamic Republic.

Public opinion in Iran is concerned about the Islamic Republic's authorities' secrecy regarding the spread of the coronavirus. In previous years, there has been a precedent where the Islamic Republic's authorities, in cases such as the Isfahan acid attack, instead of pursuing and dealing with the perpetrators, arrested and imprisoned those who reported on the incident.

Meanwhile, the US State Department's special representative for Iran on Thursday accused Iranian officials of lying to the Iranian people about the extent of the coronavirus in the country. Brian Hook told reporters: "The regime initially told the people that there was no need to worry about the spread of this virus. But at the same time, the virus was spreading throughout Iran."

Previously, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a meeting of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday, March 29, said that the Iranian regime is reluctant to provide information about the spread of the coronavirus, and that he is concerned that they have hidden important information, given the history of concealment by officials of the Islamic Republic.

This was the second time that the US Secretary of State expressed concern about possible cover-up by Iranian officials. Mike Pompeo had previously warned that the US was concerned about the Islamic Republic's cover-up of the coronavirus outbreak.

Source: Voice of America