The Coronavirus Crisis in Iran
The main reason for the dramatic and
rapid spread of COVID-19 in Iran has been the cover-up orchestrated by the
clerical regime.”
The Coronavirus Crisis in Iran
Causes of the outbreak and spread:
Cover-up, deception, incompetence, theft and corruption
National Council of Resistance of Iran
Foreign Affairs Committee
Updated
March 9, 2020
https://www.ncr-iran.org/
TAble of
Contents
Contents
Introduction............................................................ 1
Number of victims
(as of March 9, 2020):..................... 1
Crisis much greater
than the mullahs admit.................. 2
A politically
motivated cover-up.................................. 2
Minimizing human
casualties...................................... 4
Suppressing
fatality figures........................................ 6
Qom: Ground zero in
Iran......................................... 8
Incompetent crisis
control......................................... 9
The IRGC’s role in
the virus outbreak and spread......... 10
IRGC & SETAD
hoarding medical supplies and equipment............................................................ 11
Impact on the
regime's own officials.......................... 12
Iran, the new
source of the pandemic........................ 13
Coronavirus in
Iranian prisons.................................. 14
-- Greater
Tehran Prison.......................................... 14
-- Evin Prison........................................................ 15
-- Urmia Central
Prison........................................... 15
-- Karaj’s
Central Prison.......................................... 15
-- Qezel Hesar
Prison.............................................. 15
-- Rajai-Shahr
Prison (Gohardasht)........................... 15
-- Kashan Prison.................................................... 16
-- Ahvaz Shiban
Prison............................................ 16
-- Ardebil
Prison..................................................... 16
-- Zahedan
Prison.................................................. 16
-- Kermanshah
and Sanandaj Prisons......................... 16
Conclusion............................................................ 17
Iranian
Resistance’s position:................................... 18
Introduction
The
coronavirus (COVID-19) was first detected in China and recorded in the local office
of the World Health Organization on December 31, 2019. The report prompted
serious international concern over both the outbreak and its spread.
Thankfully, it appears that the virus has been more or less contained in China
as a result of measures undertaken by the government. Now Iran under the
mullahs has become the global epicenter of the pandemic.
The
scale of the virus’ spread and the death rate in Iran are dire, to the extent
that if not contained, hundreds of thousands of Iranians risk infection and
death. This drastic situation is a direct result of the ruling regime's
incompetence, lack of sufficient resources to confront the virus, and corrupt
ruling elite.
The
crisis affecting Iran is, of course, not contained within its borders. No less
than 15 other nations are dealing with infections resulting from Iranians
traveling to these countries.
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“The scale of the virus’ spread
and the death rate in Iran are dire, to the extent that if not contained,
hundreds of thousands of Iranians risk infection and death.”
|
Number of
victims (as of March 9, 2020):
The
real figures are staggering. According to the figures tallied by the
Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) main opposition movement, based on information
from its sources in hospitals across the country, as of March 9, the real death
toll in 127 cities had exceeded 2,600.
Total
death: over
2,600
Qom 500
Gilan
province 450
Tehran 420
Mashhad 205
Gorgan 204
Kashan
142
Isfahan 121
Kermanshah
province 105
Qazvin 98
Alborz
province 95
Many
more death reported in over 100 other cities.
Crisis
much greater than the mullahs admit
Several
indicators confirm that the extent of the crisis is far greater than what the
theocratic regime has admitted. In Italy, for example, the first two cases of
infection were detected 21 days before the first death; in South Korea, 29
days; and in Hong Kong, 13 days. But in Iran, the very first report on the
epidemic was about the death of two infected people, without any report
whatsoever on when, where or how the virus had first been detected. Considering
that it usually takes a period of at least 27 days to detect visible signs of
the illness, and that according to sporadic, unofficial reports, the first
death in Iran took place in the city of Qom at least three days after the
patient’s hospitalization, and that death was announced before test results
were even in, it is not surprising that the country’s healthcare and hygienic
system were caught totally off guard.
Despite
the fact that the latest figures announced by the regime’s Ministry of Health
before February 28 showed 245 infections, the World Health Organization
announced that by that time, at least 97 persons infected in Iran had entered
11 other countries. A number had visited Iranian cities where no coronavirus
infection had been reported.
According
to official facts and figures, the death rate in Iran is not comparable to any
other country in the world. The Chinese infection vs death rate in the 8 to 10
first days was reported as around 2%, worst case 5%. In Iran, the percentage
has been much higher. For example, on February 27, nine days after detection of
the coronavirus was announced in Iran for the first time, the death rate was
around 12% and on February 28 around 9%. The rate dropped to 4% on March 4, and
slightly above 3% on March 5, revealing both how absolutely unreliable Iranian
official figures are, and that the extent of the crisis was far greater than
what those figures portrayed.
Dr.
Massoud Mardani, a specialist in infectious diseases and member of the National
Influenza Committee, told the state owned daily Entekhab on March 5: “Coronavirus is transmitting very rapidly. As
one contaminated person can infect four others, we estimate that 30 to 40% of
Tehran’s population will be infected by the virus in two weeks.” The latest
Tehran population count is 12 to 13 million.
Massoud
Pezeshkian, first deputy speaker of the Parliament and a former Health
Minister, said on March 3: "The [official] numbers are not real, because
there are a number of patients who show no symptoms. We locate 95 [infected]
people and two die, so we say 2 have died out of a 100, whereas it may be that
2% of 10,000 have died."
A
politically motivated cover-up
The
main reason for the dramatic and rapid spread of COVID-19 in Iran has been the
cover-up orchestrated by the clerical regime. Officials were informed of the
outbreak in Iran two weeks prior to the February 11th anniversary of the
Revolution. In view of the frequent flights to China by Mahan Air, which is
affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the probability
of the virus spreading to Iran from China was certain. Owing to its strategic
relations with China, however, not only did the regime refuse to cancel flights
to China, but also a large number of Chinese citizens traveled to Iran
following the outbreak in their own country. Despite the regime’s subsequent
announcement that flights to China would be cancelled, Mahan Air has continued
its travels to and from China. The hundreds of Chinese students involved in
religious studies in the city of Qom in fact encourage the continuation of
these flights.
The
French daily Le Monde quoted a
physician in Tehran as saying that in the final days of January, two people
infected with coronavirus had died. Despite this news, the mullahs insisted
that there were no signs that the virus had been transmitted into Iran. This
blatant lie, ordered by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was intended to ensure the
participation of a large number of people in the state-run annual march marking
the anniversary of the 1979 Revolution on February 11, as well as the
parliamentary election sham scheduled for February 21. In an inadvertent
admission two days after the election, the regime's Interior Minister,
Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, said: "Some had recommended delaying the
elections, and insisted on delaying elections in Qom. But I, as the official
for the elections, refused to approve these recommendations."
|
“The main reason for the
dramatic and rapid spread of COVID-19 in Iran has been the cover-up
orchestrated by the clerical regime.”
|
Meanwhile,
the regime's cover-up over several weeks, rampant with false reports and
misleading information, led to the spread of the virus across Iran and its
transmission abroad. Khamenei said on March 3: "This disease is not
serious; we have seen more disastrous calamities than this." He called it
a "fleeting event," nothing "extraordinary." Khamenei
added: "Our officials have revealed information since day one with
enthusiasm, honesty and transparency, and they informed the people. But some
other countries where this illness is more intense and widespread, are covering
it up."
On
March 2, Ali Rabii, a notorious torturer and IRGC member acting as the
spokesman for Hassan Rouhani's government, claimed that the regime had had a totally
transparent approach to the coronavirus outbreak.
Ten
days ago, Rouhani claimed that the virus problem would be over by February 29.
But, on March 4, after weeks of deceit and the cancellation of all foreign
travels by state institutions, he said: “This disease has spread widely to
almost all of our provinces ... From day one, once we suspected the virus had
entered the country, we immediately instructed the Ministry of Health to inform
the public about the numbers and relevant information. We told them not to hide
anything from the public."
A
member of the clerical regime's parliament, Bahram Parsai, said: "The
reality goes beyond the [official] statistics... and if the world does not rush
to the aid of our selfless doctors and medical staff, we will all be
lost."
Ressalat daily,
affiliated with the Khamenei faction, wrote: "We can’t just give false
assurances and deny a virus outbreak until February 19, [two days before
regime’s elections] and then suddenly, the next day, start beating the drum
about how dangerous coronavirus is and the possibility of its spreading across
the country."
On
March 2, a state-run daily's editorial wrote: "What makes each of these
crises more critical and more catastrophic is the loss of public trust."
The
situation is now so dire that after a long delay, on March 4 the mullahs were
obliged to declare a state of emergency in the province of Khorasan Razavi,
cancelling Friday prayer congregations, all gatherings, and closing state
institutions, schools and universities. Fearful of the virus spreading to other
parts of the country, religious sermons and even Khamenei's sham religious
classes have been cancelled. International gatherings and exhibitions have also
been scrapped.
Minimizing
human casualties
Since
cover-ups and deception are in the regime's DNA, from day one the mullahs
avoided giving real figures about the number of infected and dead. Ironically,
during the press conference regarding the coronavirus, the official
representative of the Iranian government, Ali Rabii, was standing alongside the
deputy health minister, who was clearly suffering from the virus' symptoms and
was immediately hospitalized.
Parliament
Deputy Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh admitted, “The pile of dead bodies in Qom and
the helplessness of the people of Rasht are evidence of failures in notifying
and alerting the people about the virus outbreak in a timely manner.”
In
Golestan Province, hygienic and sanitary supplies are very scarce. All
hospitals are full to capacity. The Province's International Exhibition Center
has been turned into a field hospital to receive more patients. The
paramilitary Bassij and the Revolutionary Guards are patrolling in alleys and
streets ostensibly under the guise of Coronavirus Combating Campaign to thwart
any protests by an increasingly enraged public.
Ali
Najafi Khoshroodi, a parliament deputy from Mazandaran, said, "The
Coronavirus outbreak in Mazandaran Province, especially in the city of Babol,
has reached a critical point ... The three major hospitals in Babol lack the
capacity to accommodate new patients, and a shortage of basic facilities for
preventive measures as well as lack of equipment and some medicines have
aggravated the problems."
In
Kermanshah, a cemetery caretaker said 85 corona victims had been buried in the
cemetery. The Ferdows Cemetery in Kermanshah is under the IRGC and Bassij
control and bodies are buried at night.
Nahid
Khodakarami, head of the Health Commission of the Tehran City Council, said on
February 29: "About 10,000 to 15,000 people have been infected."
On
February 28, a medical expert at Beheshti University said: "At least
50,000 to 100,000 people have been infected. Of course, my own estimate is a
lot higher than this."
|
“The criminal cover-up by the
regime has not only led to the explosion of infection in Iran, but it has
also caused problems for many other countries.”
|
On
March 2, Qassem Janbabai, the regime's deputy health minister, admitted to the
state-run Channel 2 TV station: "We have close to 12,000 people
hospitalized during this period. ... Less than 20 percent of the people
infected visit hospitals and 80 percent have such minimal symptoms that they
can be completely treated at home." In other words, he admitted that at
least 60,000 people across the country have been infected by the virus.
In
a secret report to Khamenei's office on Sunday, March 8th, Mohammad
Hossein Ghorbani, the representative of the Minister of Health in Gilan
Province, wrote that by Sunday, the death toll in Gilan had reached 408,
including six doctors.
In another
report, Ghorbani, informed Saeed Namaki, the Health Minister, that the
condition in Gilan was extremely critical and that if major aid does not arrive
from the Ministry, the situation would get out of control. Medical staff and
nurses are exhausted due to work stress and lack of facilities. Some can no
longer continue working. They have been
in the hospital for many days and unable to see their families, he wrote.
On March 8, the
state-run daily, Hamshahri, quoted Ghorbani as saying, “The situation in
Gilan is not good, and the measures in the Province and by the Health Ministry
are inadequate to the point of being terrifying”. He acknowledged that the
figures about the Coronavirus victims are announced based on a certain protocol
controlled by 'Coronavirus Combat and Prevention Headquarters’.
IRGC Brig. Gen.
Mohammad Abdullah Pour, Commander of the IRGC and Basij forces in the
Coronavirus Headquarters in Gilan oversees measures to counter the people’s
protests and uprisings, including the revelation of the actual number of
victims.
Gholamali
Jafarzadeh Imen Abadi, majlis deputy from Rasht, said on March 6, “The number
of people infected with, or killed by, Coronavirus is horrific. Even test kits
are not available… there are no beds in hospitals for new cases in Rasht and
surrounding areas… we need new medical staff because many doctors and
nurses have caught the virus or are so tired that they cannot provide
services.” Zabih Nikfar, another member of majlis from Lahijan, said: “Gilan
has the worst situation in the whole country.”
Kuseh
Gharavi, majlis deputy from Golestan Province, said: “The situation in Golestan
province is terrible and the figures given are not so realistic.” Quoting
university officials, he added: “The number of people infected by Coronavirus
is rising exponentially… I hope special measures would be taken to bring it
under control.”
A
specialist in infectious diseases who works for the regime's army at Hajar
Hospital in Tehran said, “Currently, over 100,000 people have been infected. I
say this with certainty that 1 in 10 people would test positive. This is a
catastrophe that the government cannot deal with.”
The
criminal cover-up by the regime has not only led to the explosion of infection
in Iran, but it has also caused problems for many other countries. On March 4,
the Washington Post wrote in its
editorial: "Iran’s reaction to coronavirus has become a danger for the
world." The New York Times said
on March 3: "But instead of receiving government help, overwhelmed doctors
and nurses say they have been warned by security forces to keep quiet. ... And
some officials say [the scope of the catastrophe] will be viewed as a failure
that enemies will exploit. ... The authorities seem as worried about
controlling information as they are about controlling the virus, according to telephone
interviews and text messages with more than a half dozen Iranian medical
workers."
Suppressing
fatality figures
The
clerical regime has made every effort to prevent the dissemination of news
regarding the real scope of the crisis in Iran, and as such has made it a
security issue. Based on specific information, key members of the Headquarters
to Combat Coronavirus include officials from the Ministry of Intelligence and
Security (MOIS), the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC and the Judiciary.
MOIS and the IRGC Intelligence Organization are actively working to prevent any
leaks of accurate reports. To this end, commanders of the IRGC Intelligence
Organization in each province attend meetings at the local Hygiene and
Treatment Headquarters.
The
IRGC, IRGC Intelligence Organization, and Ministry of Intelligence have been
tasked to threaten the families of victims to keep silent in a bid to cover-up
the actual number of fatalities. The IRGC’s command HQ has ordered all
provincial IRGC divisions and headquarters to be present at hospitals and
medical and health centers to control reporting on the number of patients
infected or killed due to the virus. In many cities, cardiac arrest is
specified in death certificates. Families are pressured not to disclose the
real cause of death.
|
“MOIS and the IRGC Intelligence
Organization are actively working to prevent any leaks of accurate
reports.”
|
This
reality is even reflected in some of the state-media reports. On February 29,
the state-run daily Ressalat wrote:
"With regards to the number of infected nurses, we cannot release any
figures. The statistics are completely security related and cannot be revealed.
Even the heads of hospitals might not know the number of coronavirus victims.
Even if a victim goes to the hospital, the statistics are not given to the
hospital supervisor. There is a special private channel and no one but the
Health Ministry officials are aware of the numbers."
Nahid
Khodakarami, head of the Health Commission of the Tehran City Council, said on
March 1: "Yesterday, I said that in Tehran it is possible that 10,000
people have been infected with coronavirus. The IRGC intelligence unit called
me and complained. They asked, why did you provide this number? I said, sir,
how long are you going to cover this up? These numbers are being talked about
in society and my saying it calms the situation. Let's be transparent with the
people. We shouldn't make this disease a security matter. You don't need to
call me and ask me why I divulge some figures. I merely provided some experts’
opinions. The IRGC intelligence official told me that I should refer the matter
to the Health Ministry. I said, OK, we should increase the pressure on the
Health Ministry to be more transparent and to openly express themselves and
tell people the facts; otherwise our reputation in the world will be
eroded."
The
head of Yaftabad Hospital in Tehran said on March 1: "Our primary problem
in this crisis was that we did not transmit the right information to the people
and we don't have the right information. Treating everything as a political and
security matter, we endanger people's health. It's always been this way."
The
regime has threatened to imprison people who provide news about the actual
scope of the crisis. Hassan Nowrouzi, the Speaker of the Judiciary Committee of
the Parliament, said on February 26 that those who “disseminate fake news
regarding coronavirus” will be sentenced from one to three years of
imprisonment and lashes.
Qom: Ground zero in Iran
After
identifying COVID-19 cases in the city of Qom, the regime's officials refused
to quarantine the city or stop pilgrimages to the city's holy shrines. The
regime’s rejection of these basic measures led to thousands of infections in
Qom, and the spread of infection to other cities by travelers returning from
Qom. A video
clip, widely posted on social media on March 2 shows the critical
situation in Qom’s mortuary.
The
head of one hospital in Tehran's Yaftabad said on March 1: "If we had
limited the travel of people in Qom, since the epicenter of the illness is in
Qom, the spread would not have been so extensive. You look at the map and you
will see that it spread to neighboring provinces from Qom. ... [Officials] say
that they avoided quarantining Qom for economic reasons. But in fact, the
damage that this virus causes is a thousand times worse. If we consider
economic calculations, the damage will be catastrophic. In fact, our mistake
was that when we discovered that the contamination is in the city of Qom, we
should have quarantined the people there and prevented its spread. If we had
done so, the virus would not have spread. Dr. Abrazadeh [deputy of Dr. Mohammad
Reza Qadir, head of the Qom medical sciences university] had ordered the
closure of the shrine, but a number of people refused to close the Masoumeh
shrine, citing religious reasons."
Nahid
Khodakarami, head of the Health Commission of the Tehran City Council, said on
March 1: "Two weeks ago, I told Dr. Iraj Harirchi and even Dr. Nobakht
[head of the parliamentary Health Committee] that Qom must be quarantined, but
they did not listen. There must be restrictions placed on Qom. Now, the entire
country has been infected. Even in a small city like Khansar, three people have
tested positive for coronavirus. All three had gone there from Qom. Yesterday,
three people traveled from Qom to Tehran and all of them died. If we had not
given priority to the concerns of the clerics, we would have been in a much
better situation."
A
manager of the Group of Experts of Social Factors Impacting Health at the
Beheshti University said on February 28: "Almost all cases in the country
have been caused by Qom. Therefore, our greatest mistake was that we did not
control the source."
Massoud
Pezeshkian, March 3: "We should have quarantined Qom from day one. ...
This disease is not a joke, which is the way we are dealing with it. Currently
hospitals are overflowing and there is no room for more patients, and it will
get worse by the day. The economy and everything will be ruined; it is no joke.
What would have happened if they shut down the country for 15 days? If we had
done so on the first day, it would not have spread to the entire country.
...."
"Why
was the Coronavirus outbreak in Qom overshadowed by the Majlis elections? Why
was Qom not quarantined to prevent the spread of Coronavirus across the
country? " questioned Alireza Rahimi, a member of the Majlis (Parliament)
leadership, according to State run news agency, ISNA on March 7.
The
calls to quarantine Qom were strongly opposed by affiliates of Khamenei, who
would not allow the city’s holy shrine, one of the most sacred in Iran, to be
closed. Mohammad Saeedi, Khamenei’s representative in Qom, said on February 22
that the “enemy” intends to show that Qom is insecure and take revenge, but “it
will never succeed.” The following day, Ali Akbar Hosseini-Nejad, Saidi’s
advisor, said the closure of the holy shrine would send a “bitter message” and
“these kinds of decisions must be made by the regime.” Despite the heightening
crisis across the country, Saidi said on February 26, “We consider the holy
shrine a ‘house of cure’ and it must remain open and people must resolutely
visit the shrine.”
Incompetent
crisis control
The
regime has been utterly unable to control or stop the spread of COVID-19. Many
physicians do not have sanitizers or masks for their own use. This has led to
infections among a significant number of doctors, nurses and medical workers in
various cities. In turn, this has led to a shortage of medical staff, i.e.,
those infected do not receive proper medical care.
The
shortage of resources and medical equipment has worsened the regime's inability
to deal with the situation. For example, while there should be two nurses for
every patient in urgent care, currently there is one nurse for every four beds,
and they suffer from a lack of sufficient resources to treat the sick. In
Tehran's Yaftabad Hospital, which suffers from a lack of sufficient medical
resources, many infected patients have been released. The hospital has only
limited means to provide rooms and beds for quarantines. They don't even have
test kits. One of the physicians working at this hospital said that at least 20
had died in one day.
According
to a confidential report, a senior official in Golestan Province said on March
4: “So far 46 people have died in the province. Since Sunday, February 28, the
number of patients has been rising and some 100-130 people are hospitalized.
For instance, we hospitalized 141 in our province. With each passing day, I
feel the situation is becoming more critical and respiratory cases are on the
rise. One major problem is that there are almost no IC beds available in the
entire province. The other major issue is protective masks for medical
personnel, known as the L95 mask. This is a serious shortage we are facing
every day. This ailment is increasing every day in the province and it is going
to become worse from tomorrow … The number of our patients is rising every day
at an exponential rate.”
On
February 29, the parliament deputy from Rasht said that people are dying in the
villages; they are buried and there are no doctors. He added, there are many
houses with infected people quarantined in them. "All of my relatives are
also at home and infected,"
A
member of the IRGC in Tehran said on February 26: “The Islamic Republic always
exploits crises and blames perceived enemies of the people. In the end, despite
damages and casualties, it refuses to accept any responsibility for the
problems.”
The IRGC’s
role in the virus outbreak and spread
Many
in Iran consider the IRGC as the source of the outbreak of COVID-19. On
February 26, one of the IRGC commanders in Tehran in a confidential report
wrote that while there are disagreements about how the virus entered Iran, what
is certain is that the IRGC is being blamed for it. This is because Mahan Air,
a special IRGC service company, has continued its operations with China.
Moreover, some media outlets have reported that the virus entered Iran through
Chinese theological students in Qom. Reportedly, over 700 Chinese students
entered Qom with the support of the IRGC and are studying at the al-Mostafa
Community.
The
role of Mahan Air is rather unique. While it presents itself as a private
company, in practice it is controlled by the IRGC. Mahan Air and a number of
its directors have been placed on U.S. sanctions lists and as Specially Designated
Global Terrorists (SGDT)
Mahan Air
controlled by the Qods Force of the IRGC maintains flights to four Chinese
cities; Flights have not stopped.
In
an October 2017 investigative report, the National Council of Resistance of
Iran (NCRI) revealed that Mahan Air is an arm of the IRGC's extraterritorial
Quds Force. Its chief directors were appointed by Qassem Soleimani, the former
Quds Commander who was eliminated by the U.S. in January 2020. The CEO of the
company, Mohsen Arabnejad, who like Soleimani was born in Kerman, had been
under Soleimani’s command in the IRGC since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. He
was appointed as the CEO of Mahan Air by Soleimani after the establishment of
the company.
Mahan
Air has regular flights to the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou,
and Shenzhen. At the time of this
report, Mahan Air has coordinated at least 55 flights to China since the
identification of the coronavirus. Indeed, even after regime officially banned
flights to China, Mahan Air has continued its flights, including on March 5 to
Shanghai.
|
“Many in Iran consider the IRGC
as the source of the outbreak of COVID-19.”
|
Despite
the regime’s efforts to justify limited flights to China by claiming that they
carry humanitarian aid, investigations show that those flights have been by
passenger aircraft rather than cargo planes. There have been also flights from
Tehran to multiple destinations in addition to China. While almost all airlines
have stopped their flights to China or severely restricted them, it appears
that Mahan planes flying to China are also used for other destinations,
providing the means for wider dissemination of the virus.
IRGC &
SETAD hoarding medical supplies and equipment
The
medical market is monopolized by the IRGC and economic powerhouses controlled
by the office of Khamenei, such as the HQ for Implementation of the Imam’s
Order (aka SETAD), a financial conglomerate under the supervision of the
Supreme Leader. When reports about COVID-19 first emerged, the IRGC began
hoarding and controlling the government sale and distribution of medical
equipment to other countries. Out of the nearly 52 million masks that were
bought, a portion were sent to China as a gift, some were sent to Iraq for the
Popular Mobilization Front militias, and the rest were sold on the black market
at exorbitant prices.
Standard
detection kits for the virus were allocated to regime officials at the Pasteur
Institute and Khomeini Hospital, while non-standard kits that were domestically
manufactured are being sold to average citizens at ten times the regular price
(700,000 Tomans as opposed to 70,000 Tomans).
|
“When reports about COVID-19
first emerged, the IRGC began hoarding and controlling the government sale
and distribution of medical equipment to other countries.”
|
According
to analysts, he was referring to SETAD, which acts as Khamenei’s personal
coffer. It is one of the largest economic conglomerates in Iran; its assets
were estimated at 95 billion dollars in 2013. It has muscled its way into the
pharmaceutical business in Iran in recent years. SETAD is on the US sanctions
list.
The
head of SETAD, Mohammad Mokhber, said on February 27 that it had signed a
contract for the production of 50 million medical masks, the first batch of
which would be distributed in Tehran soon. Later news reports indicated that
the masks were imported, at the same time that Health Ministry officials
announced that they did not need to import any masks.
SETAD’s
public relations director, Hojat Niki-Molki, told Jam-e Jam newspaper on March 2 that the masks were purchased from a
European country and that 17 million had entered the country on March 1 and
would be delivered to the Health Ministry.
A
standard mask in the EU costs about 20 to 40 cents at retail outlets. Local
Iranian news outlets reported that masks are selling for $1.50 to $2 US on the
black market in Tehran.
Impact on
the regime's own officials
At
least 23 members of the regime's Parliament, i.e. 8 percent of Parliament
deputies, have contracted coronavirus. Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, in
charge of combating the coronavirus; the advisor to the Judiciary Chief Mostafa
Pourmohammadi, who was Justice Minister during Rouhani's first term; the
chairman of the parliamentary Security and Foreign Affairs committee Mojtaba Zolnour;
and vice president Masoumeh Ebtekar, who was a spokeswoman of the Followers of
the Imam students during the 1979 U.S. embassy takeover, are among those who
have been contracted the virus.
A
number of senior officials have died, including Seyyed Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a
member of the Expediency Council; the former ambassador to the Vatican, Hadi
Khosroshahi; two newly appointed members of parliament, Mohammad Ali
Raemzanzadeh and Fatemeh Rahbar; a member of the Swimming and Water Polo
Federation, Javad Karimi; the head of the Mojtahedi seminary and member of the
Supreme Council of Seminaries of Tehran Province, mullah Habibi; the former
head of the Organization of Deeds and Properties Registration and advisor to
Judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi, Ahmad Toyserkani; and Hossein Sheikh ol-Islam, a
former Deputy Foreign Minister.
Qom
as the center of the epidemic has led to the infection and death of many regime
officials. The IRGC's ideological-political unit had established a training
session for IRGC commanders in Qom. Attendees have infected other provinces and
the IRGC itself. IRGC member Ebrahim Alizadeh, who had gone to Qom for a
week-long ideological class, has been infected and is bedridden at home. Other
IRGC members who have returned from Qom are quarantined in their houses and
will not report to work for at least two weeks. In Ardebil Province, five IRGC
commanders who returned in one vehicle have been infected and quarantined. One
infected IRGC member fainted at the Ardebil airport. IRGC Brig. Gen. Farhang
Mostaed Hesari, deputy commander of the IRGC in the province, and Jalil
Babazadeh, another IRGC commander, are quarantined.
Iran, the
new source of the pandemic
The
current COVID-19 crisis in Iran is not limited to the Iranian people;
Iran has become the epicenter of the spread of the virus
to other countries around the world, including Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Lebanon, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Oman,
Bahrain, Georgia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Kuwait.
On
February 28, authorities of the Queensland state in
Australia said that a 63-year-old woman who had recently come from
Iran was diagnosed with COVID-19. In a similar
development, according to New Zealand authorities, the first
person diagnosed with the coronavirus had come from Iran.
The
Iranian regime’s state-run media outlets also wrote on March 1: “Canadian
officials said last week that seven of
their citizens returning from Iran had
been diagnosed with the coronavirus.”
Coronavirus
in Iranian prisons
Coronavirus
is spreading in Greater Tehran Prison, Rajaii-Shahr (Gohardasht-Karaj), Karaj’s
Central Prison, Qezel Hesar, Urmia, Sheiban and Kashan prisons. Because of
overcrowding, inmates sleep on the ground in corridors, often close to sanitary
facilities. They are deprived of medical masks and disinfectants. In some
prisons, including Qezel Hesar, even simple detergents or soap are not
available. Some prisoners in Karaj’s Central Prison do not have cells and spend
time in the prison yard. The lack of hygiene is aggravated because political
and ordinary prisoners, including addicts, are kept together. This situation
has accelerated the spread of the coronavirus.
The
dire conditions in Evin Prison portend of another humanitarian catastrophe. A
significant number of political prisoners are suffering from Coronavirus
symptoms, such as severe coughing and high fever. No measures have been taken
to treat or quarantine them, however. The guards avoid entering the cells for
the daily census in fear of being infected and count the prisoners outside the
cells. There is an absolute shortage of hygienic and disinfectants and
Coronavirus test kits are non-existents. Prisoners are told to purchase the
necessary hygienic supplies from outside the prison.
-- Greater Tehran Prison
The
5th block of Greater Tehran Prison is allocated to those arrested
during the unrest of November 2019, mostly youths who protested fuel price
hikes and poverty. Several among them are already infected with coronavirus. As
of March 1, more than 40 inmates of the 5th block were quarantined
in hospital. Out of hostility towards these political prisoners, the regime’
Judiciary is still not agreeing to their temporary leave, which endangers all
prisoners.
Amir
Hossein Moradi, 25, who was sentenced to death for taking part in the November
2019 uprising, has contracted coronavirus in ward 2 of Fashfouyeh Prison in
Tehran. The ward has not been disinfected and there is no medical equipment or
products for the prisoners. Moradi was transferred to Khomeini hospital after
contracting the virus, but was returned on February 29. He has been taken to an
unknown location. He also suffers from paralysis and his immune system is
severely weakened. His cellmates have all been quarantined.
Moradi
has a diploma in computer science and before his arrest sold mobile phones,
computers and software in Tehran.
On
Friday, February 28, Amnesty International called for urgent action to save the
lives of three protestors who took part in the November uprisings: Amir Hossein
Moradi, Saeed Tamjidi, and Mohammad Rajabi. AI added that the three had been
tried in an unjust trial and have been tortured.
-- Evin Prison
Inmates
infected with coronavirus have been seen in wards 4, 7 and 8. As a result, all
activities outside of the wards have been canceled, and the wards placed under
quarantine. There is no news about the many political prisoners and prisoners
of conscience being held in this prison.
-- Urmia Central Prison
At
least one inmate, Fariq Mohammadi, 47, has died; five others have been
transferred to medical centers. The minimum essential hygienic products are not
available in this prison, where overcrowding forces inmates to sleep on the
floor in the proximity of sanitary facilities.
Nurses
in special protective clothes transferred an inmate from ward 14 to a medical
center out of the prison on suspicion of coronavirus infection on February 27.
There is no information about his whereabouts. One of the prisoners in ward 3
has contracted the virus. There are about 900 prisoners in wards 3 and 4.
-- Karaj’s Central Prison
Family
visits were cancelled in Karaj’s Central Prison last week because of the spread
of coronavirus. The ward allocated to political prisoners and prisoners of
conscience has been turned into the quarantine space for the infected. Prison
authorities have placed political prisoners in the workers’ ward. The prison’s
hygienic conditions are catastrophic. In each prison hall, only 100 prisoners
have beds. From early morning, the rest spend time in the prison courtyard and
during the night sleep on the floor in the corridors adjacent to the sanitary
facilities.
-- Qezel Hesar Prison
At
least seven inmates are infected with COVID-19 in Karaj’s Qezel Hesar Prison.
Not only have the authorities refused to take care of them, but they have also
provided no information about their condition. The identities of three are:
Said Hemati, Meisam Monouri, and Mohammad-Hessam Rahimi.
Not
even detergents are made available to prisoners in this prison. Given the
severe overcrowding of the facility, prisoners suffer from lack of fresh air in
the rooms and the risk of infection is high.
-- Rajai-Shahr Prison
(Gohardasht)
Prisoners
suspected of being infected are kept in public wards in Rajai-Shahr Prison in
Karaj, and are returned to the public wards after simply taking their
temperature, despite severe coughing and fever. Inmates say that despite
authorities’ denials of new prisoner entrees, new prisoners have routinely been
taken there in recent days and even transfers to courts and judicial centers
continue. On February 26, several inmates of the workers’ ward of Greater
Tehran Prison were transferred to Rajai-Shahr to maintain services such as
cooking. Given the spread of coronavirus in Greater Tehran Prison, the risk of
infection is high..
-- Kashan Prison
Cases
of infection have been detected in ward 3, where the infected inmates are kept
with others with no quarantine. Reportedly, on February 25, a dying inmate was
transferred out of the prison. Nothing is known about his fate.
-- Ahvaz Shiban Prison
In
Ahvaz Shiban Prison, at least two inmates, Milad Baghlani and Hamid-Reza Makki,
have contracted coronavirus and have been transferred to prison quarantine.
There is no information about their situation.
-- Ardebil Prison
The
healthy inmates of one ward of Ardebil Central Prison have been evacuated and
prisoners that show symptoms of the virus have been transferred to this ward.
There are a large number of political prisoners in this prison.
-- Zahedan Prison
A
number of prisoners in Zahedan Prison who contracted the coronavirus have been
transferred to unknown locations. The virus has spread in ward 4, where at
least one prisoner has been transferred out. A large number of political
prisoners are being held in this ward and are in danger of contracting the
virus. A number of prisoners from other wards who had been infected were
transferred after a delay of several days and after their conditions had
worsened. There is no news about their whereabouts. Prison officials cancelled
all visits last week.
-- Kermanshah and Sanandaj
Prisons
On
March 3, a prisoner in the public ward of Kermanshah's Dizelabad Prison was
transferred by health workers outside the prison after his condition
worsened. On the same day, another
prisoner was transferred out of Sanandaj Central Prison under tight security.
Conclusion
- The
virus had begun to circulate in Iran, but regime officials had direct
orders from Khamenei to withhold information from the public because of the
February 11 anniversary of the Revolution and the February 21 election
charade. It was not until late February that officials acknowledged the
infections, but that was too late. The regime was the main culprit causing
the spread of the coronavirus in Iran.
- The
regime has consistently under-reported the number of people infected or
killed by the virus and has turned the issue of statistics into a security
matter, thus covering up the extent of the public health crisis facing
Iran and the world.
- The
public has strongly rejected Rouhani’s and Khamenei’s remarks questioning
the seriousness of the crisis, while the regime is trying to feign
normalcy. Despite the denials, it has been forced to cancel parliament
meetings, its Friday prayers, and several other gatherings, indicative of
the extent of the crisis.
- Evidence
shows that the IRGC has been complicit in the spread of the virus to the
city of Qom and from there to other cities. The consequent epidemic
demonstrates the incompetence of this regime.
- The
medical supplies that already existed in Iran and could have been
sufficient to counter the virus have been grossly mismanaged due to
corruption and hoarding by the IRGC and government agencies affiliated
with Khamenei. There is a shortage of medical supplies, to the extent that
even medical personnel do not have the minimum supplies to fight the virus
and protect themselves.
- The
epidemic has been very costly to the regime. It has been a total disaster
politically, has squeezed the regime further economically, and aggravated
public disgust of the regime to unprecedented levels.
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بر اندازیم#
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