Suspicion as virus deaths skyrocket
Source link THERE are claims that at least 210 people in Iran have died as a result of the new coronavirus disease. BBC Persian reported the figures on Friday, citing unnamed sources in the Islamic republic’s health system and prompting an angry denial from a health ministry spokesman. According to the London-based global news network’s Persian service said, most of the people died in the capital Tehran and the holy city of Qom in central Iran, where the country’s first case was reported. Iranian officials have flatly refuted the new figures, despite Iran’s deputy health minister downplaying the coronavirus crisis just hours before testing positive for the virus. Health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur accused BBC Persian of joining the Islamic republic’s regional enemies in a “race to spread lies” about Iran. “Iran’s exemplary transparency in publishing information on the coronavirus has stunned many people,” Jahanpur tweeted. BBC Persian’s figure is six times higher than...