A US Congressman: Khamenei's denial turned Qom and Mashhad into the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak for Shiite pilgrims
John Curtis, a Republican from Utah and a member of the House Foreign Relations Committee, blamed the Islamic Republic's leader for the widespread spread of the coronavirus in Iran, saying he "denies the authority of scientific facts."
In an article he co-authored with Khosrow Semnani, an Iranian-American industrialist, philanthropist, and community leader based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Mr. Curtis says, “[Ali Khamenei’s] denial of the spread of COVID-19, calling it a rumor, has turned religious cities like Qom and Mashhad into a vortex of infection for countless Shiite pilgrims.”
“As if infecting Iran and the Middle East wasn’t enough,” wrote Mr. Curtis and Mr. Semnani in a joint article published in the Hill newspaper. “Khamenei denied the pandemic in order to boost turnout in the parliamentary elections.” The article continued: “After exposing Qom and much of Iran to the risk of contamination in order to support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ special relationship with China, Mr. Khamenei is now accusing the United States of conspiring to sicken the Iranian people.”
Mr. Curtis and Mr. Semnani also wrote that Iranian anger over the widespread spread of the virus in Iran led to the hashtag "Khamanei Virus" (#KhamaneiVirus) becoming popular on social media.
The authors of this article, while expressing their opposition to the recent statement by former US Vice President Joe Biden, criticizing the Trump administration's policy of implementing a maximum pressure campaign on Iran, described the statement as "a misrepresentation of US intentions."
In his statement, Joe Biden said that the maximum pressure campaign had "backfired" and called on President Trump's administration to take immediate steps to establish channels to provide banking facilities and public health assistance in response to the health emergency in Iran.
Source: Voice of America
