News Bulletin: Ayatollahs in Iran Overwhelmed by Coronavirus, Sanctions, Political Mutiny
Politics and Society Blog, Kodoom.com News Aggregation Bulletin
The spread of coronavirus in Iran is more extensive that initially acknowledged by government officials:
- Officially, the number of infections stands at 245 and death toll at 28, but this mortality rate is four times higher than global averages, prompting some observers to accuse Iranian officials of falsifying numbers.
- Apparently, the hotbed of the virus is in the religious city of Qom which hosts some 1000 Chinese citizens studying in Shia (Islamic) seminary schools.
- The city of Qom is now running out of hospital beds with 434 suspicious cases hospitalized.
- Several high profile Ayatollahs have either been infected with the virus or died, including a grand Ayatollah and a founding father of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
- Despite warnings by the Health Ministry, the custodian of Qom's Holy Shrine has opposed closing of the shrines because in his words "shrines are where people seek and receive cure from diseases." Two other Grand Ayatollahs have not opposed Health Ministry's advice but have asked followers to recite Ashura prayer.
- Turkish Health Minister has accused Iranian officials of censorship, hiding the facts and a slow response to the the emergence of virus in Qom.
Zolnoor, the Conservative in charge of National Security Committee in Parliament
- Several Iranian MPs (including Head of National Security Committee, pictured above), cabinet Ministers or Deputy Ministers (including Rouhani's Deputy Masoumeh Ebtekar and Health Minister's Deputy for prevention of coronavirus who opposed quarantines!) and even sports athletes have tested positive for coronavirus or died.
- At least 8 countries including Turkey, Russia and India have closed their borders to Iranian travellers.
- Images circulating in Iranian media show packaging of coronavirus prevention kits on a non-sterile floor in Qom by militia women and children.
- Masks are in short supply and sold mainly in black market. At least 20 million masks have so far been seized from smugglers and hoarders.
- Last week, rolling power outages (blackouts) caused by fuel shortages affected parts of the country.
- In the past few months, a mysterious foul stench has spread across the capital city of Tehran. Authorities such as Mohsen Hashemi, head of Tehran's City Council (tested positive for coronavirus) have implied they cannot comment on the true cause of the stench, while others blame the stench on substandard gasoline or liquified gas grades now distributed by the government in light of the shortage caused by sanctions imposed by Donald Trump. The same fuel shortage triggered the riots that resulted in widespread destruction and death. Many Iranian cities are now suffering from unprecedented poor air qualities. This winter, schools have been shut down for days at a time in several provinces.
- Iran's currency has lost another 10% of its official exchange value in recent days.
- Drinking water was temporarily shut down in 5 Tehran districts following turbidity.
- In big cities, voter turnout at the parliamentary elections held last week was less than 30%, a record low post 1979 revolution.
- Many reformist candidates, some current MPs and among founders of the Islamic Revolution, and even conservatives who have been critical of the Supreme Leader or the killing of demonstrators during November riots, were blacklisted by the conservative Guardian Council supervising the elections and appointed by Iran's Supreme Leader. As a result, the new Parliament will be majority conservative allies of Ayatollah Khamenei. Even President Rouhani, a reformist, lamented about "engineered" elections.
- An open letter issued by some of the former staunch supporters of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, as well as children of prominent Founding Fathers, such as Ayatollahs Beheshti and Talighani, called Iran today a "hopeless, anxious, sick society" pushed by radical violent and power-hungry religious zealots towards another explosion.
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