Envoy Denounces Use of Coronavirus as Political Weapon against Iran

Iranian Ambassador to Paris Bahram Qassemi lashed out at some countries which are pouncing on the outbreak of a novel coronavirus to achieve their political objectives, stressing that such an opportunistic approach is tantamount to committing crimes.

News ID: 449423

Date: 04 March 2020 - 13:01

RNA - “Those who take advantage of people’s lives and turn the coronavirus into a political weapon against Iran are criminals,” Qassemi wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday.

“The fight against the coronavirus is not limited to a specific country or a special center, and the control of the virus needs a global consensus and comprehensive cooperation,” he stressed.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi said in a press conference that some media outlets intentionally seek to undermine the Iranian efforts to combat the coronavirus, adding that among our responsibilities is to thwart these bad media propaganda against the country.

He added that some, unfortunately, suggest that Iran is the source of this virus, and they fabricate and display false statistics.

As of Tuesday, the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak, officially known as COVID-19, in Iran has risen to 77 with 2336 confirmed cases.

On Friday, the Iranian Embassy in Georgia lashed out at some neighboring countries which are playing a blame game against Tehran for the spread of coronavirus in the region, reminding that hiding figures on infections will worsen the problem rather than solving it.

Iran appreciates all countries and international bodies which have helped confront coronavirus and considers international community's cooperation as key to control, contain and uproot the epidemic, Iranian Embassy in Tbilisi said in a statement.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus in some of the Iranian cities, effective and special measures have been taken in line with WHO instructions to fight and control coronavirus, the statement read.

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