Iran was the first country after China that was ravaged by the coronavirus and for some time, was the second most affected country.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2020/apr/18/irans-grim-fight-against-coronavirus-2131686.html
Heightened rhetoric about a
Western plot, quack remedies and blind faith added to the problem in a nation
where senior clerics and politicians have died in the pandemic
Published: 18th April 2020
04:00 AM | Last Updated: 18th April 2020 07:49 AM | A+A A-
A Revolutionary Guard member
disinfects a car to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in downtown
Tehran, Iran. (Photo | AP)
By Pinak Ranjan
Chakravarty
Iran was the
first country after China that was ravaged by the coronavirus and for some
time, was the second most affected country.
Coronavirus cases in Europe and
the US have risen rapidly since then. Iran is now eighth on the global list.
The virus spread rapidly in Iran in the early stages, though it has now been
contained, but not before causing a very high number of deaths of medical
workers. Iran remains the worst affected country in the West Asian region, with
around 78,000 cases and over 4,850 deaths.
Iran does not
share a land border with China. Why did it get affected in the pandemic’s early
stages? Heightened rhetoric about a Western
plot, quack remedies and faith all added to the problem.
On February 19, Iran announced
its first confirmed case. During
the same month huge rallies were held across Iran to commemorate the 1979
Islamic Revolution. Elections
were also held in February with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei exhorting all
Iranians to ignore the virus and come out and vote. There was no attempt at implementing
social distancing and President Hassan Rouhani dismissed the virus as “one of
the enemy’s plots to bring our country into closure by spreading panic”.
Steps like
closing the religious shrines at the holy city of Qom were delayed, causing the
virus to spread among pilgrims from Iran and abroad. No quarantine arrangements
were declared, though educational institutions were shut down. The Iranian
government also revoked permission for Doctors without Borders to set up a
field hospital to treat virus-affected patients in Isfahan, apparently on the
suspicion that the team of foreign doctors will steal the genomes of the
Iranian strain of Covid-19.
The first two
victims to die were in Qom, the bastion of Iran’s Shia clergy.
It is likely the virus was
carried by Iranians returning from China or students from China or Chinese
workers engaged in construction of a high-speed rail link. It was also
transmitted by pilgrims in Qom thronging Shia religious shrines. The prevailing
belief that pilgrims were insulated from the virus did not help. These shrines
have since been shut down.
The virus has not spared the
high and mighty. It has felled senior clerics, former ambassadors and
politicians. A policy of denial has now given way to grudging acceptance that
Iran was slow to respond, mistaking the virus as a common flu. Iranians ignored
warnings and the government had to impose a countrywide lockdown from the
middle of last month and order the security forces, including the Army, to
implement the lockdown.
Iran has blamed the US for the
debilitating sanctions that have prevented imports of protective gear and
medicines. Sanctions have also impeded import of materials for domestic
production. Iranian advocates of this argument have called it “medical
terrorism”. It is not clear why it could not import medical requirements from
China and Russia, both of which have close ties with Iran. The US, which
initially ignored appeals for waiver of sanctions, then offered medical and
humanitarian aid. But this was predictably rejected by Iran.
After the Trump administration
junked the nuclear deal (JCPOA) and reimposed sanctions in 2018, Iran’s oil
exports and foreign investment dwindled further. The US has sought to reduce
Iran’s oil exports to zero and cripple its principle source of revenue.
American sanctions not only prohibited its companies from doing business with
Iran but also targeted third-country companies. This led India too to reduce
and finally stop oil imports from Iran, which was the third largest supplier in
2019. China, however, disregarding American sanctions, continued to source oil
supplies from Iran, bypassing the US dollar.
Economic slowdown and Covid-19
will lead to lower demand for Iranian oil in China and increase pressure on
Iran’s revenues even further. From a high of 2.8 million barrels per day, oil
production has dropped to 1.4 million barrels per day. Iran’s economy has been
effectively crippled with the IMF predicting zero growth in 2020. There has
been a surge in unemployment, reserves have plummeted and the currency, Rial,
has tanked. Meanwhile, Iran has appealed to the IMF for an emergency loan of $5
billion.
Though American sanctions
exclude humanitarian items like medicines and medical equipment, companies have
been reluctant to do business with Iran as US banks have avoided financing any
humanitarian trade with Iran. The potential Democrat Party presidential
challenger to President Trump, Joe Biden, has called for easing US sanctions.
He has asked for specific licensing arrangements so that companies find it
easier to export medical supplies and banks have no doubt about falling foul of
sanctions. As the clamour has grown for international assistance to Iran,
European countries like France, Germany and UK have skirted American sanctions
with their financial system Intex to provide medical supplies to Iran worth
around Euro 5 million.
India has been airlifting
Indians stuck in Iran. The IAF has been doing the heavy lifting in bringing
back Indians stuck abroad and Air India too has played a stellar role.
President Rouhani has written to global leaders, including PM Modi, for help in
easing American sanctions and medical supplies. The irony is that just a few
weeks ago, Iranian leaders had issued intemperate statements against India on
Jammu and Kashmir and the Delhi violence. India has lifted the ban on export of
paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine to select countries. Iran too may benefit
from this. Iran’s economy, like
those of other countries, will take a greater hit from coronavirus than
American sanctions in the near future.
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