{"id":394,"date":"2020-02-29T23:39:08","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T05:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/?p=394"},"modified":"2020-03-01T16:12:08","modified_gmt":"2020-03-01T22:12:08","slug":"394","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/coatesn\/2020\/02\/29\/394\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Read this and be shocked\u2014\u201cIn the meantime, while the busy shrine in Qom has been declared by Health Ministry Officials as one of the focal points of spreading the virus, some people in the city filmed themselves licking the ornaments touched by thousands of pilgrims every day. A local cleric has claimed that the silver ornaments kill all germs.\u201d\u00a0 From \u201cMore Members Of Iran’s Political Elite Fall Victim To Coronavirus,\u201d<\/a> Radio Farda, February 29, 2020.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s government is denying a BBC Persia report that Iran\u2019s deaths total at least 210 \u2014 a much higher figure than the Regime has reported \u2014 based on the BBC\u2019s own survey of Iranian hospitals. (this is one reason Iran doesn\u2019t like the media). \u201cConfusion and Contradiction Reign in Iran\u2019s Coronavirus Reporting,\u201d<\/a> Farnaz Fassihi and Rick Gladstone, New York Times, February 28, 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018There Is No Evil,\u2019 About Executions in Iran, Wins Top Prize at Berlin Film Festival,\u201d<\/a> Thomas Rogers, New York Times, February 29, 2020.<\/p>\n

Despite rampant discrimination against women attending football matches, and despite now the rampant coronavirus due to the Regime\u2019s lack of timely response, Iran is still asking FIFA to hold matches in the country.\u00a0 \u201cIran asks FIFA the country\u2019s election to be held according to timetable,\u201d<\/a> Tehran Times, February 29, 2020.<\/p>\n

Robin Wright remains one of the best experts on Iran.\u00a0 \u201cHow Iran Became a New Epicenter of the Coronavirus Outbreak,\u201d<\/a> Robin Wright, New Yorker, February 28, 2020.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe outbreak appears to have started in Qom, the conservative city of Shiite seminaries run by leading ayatollahs, about two hours from Tehran. It is also home to the Fatima Masumeh shrine\u2014famed for its massive gold dome and intricate blue tilework\u2014which draws pilgrims from all over the world. (For its historic beauty, I visit the shrine complex whenever I go to Qom.) The first mention of the disease by the government was a report of two deaths in the city on February 19th. Initial reports indicate that the carrier of the virus may have been a merchant who travelled between Qom and Wuhan, in China, where COVID-19 is believed to have originated. The outbreak is estimated to have begun between three and six weeks ago, which would mean that the two Iranians who died could have been sick and infecting others for weeks.\u201d\u00a0 \u2026\u00a0 \u201cPolitics may have played a role in the government\u2019s handling of the health crisis, Alaei, the health-policy expert, told me. The outbreak coincided with two major milestones\u2014the anniversary of Iran\u2019s revolution, on February 11th, and the parliamentary election, on February 21st. \u201cThe government didn\u2019t want to acknowledge that they had a coronavirus outbreak because they feared it would impact participation in these two events,\u201d he said. \u201cSo for weeks there was a huge silence.\u201d Less than forty-three per cent of Iranian voters turned out for the election, the lowest rate of participation since the 1979 revolution. Both voters and poll workers were photographed wearing masks.\u00a0 \u201cIt was the political decision that led to this outbreak in Iran,\u201d Alaei said. \u201cIt\u2019s very unfortunate, as Iran has a very well-established infrastructure for the health system and well-educated doctors.\u201d Alaei was imprisoned in 2008 for \u201ccommunicating with the enemy,\u201d running espionage rings, and trying to \u201claunch a velvet revolution\u201d against the government in Tehran. He spent thirty months in the notorious Evin Prison. He moved to the United States after his release.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Read this and be shocked\u2014\u201cIn the meantime, while the busy shrine in Qom has been declared by Health Ministry Officials as one of the focal points of spreading the virus, some people in the city filmed themselves licking the ornaments touched by thousands of pilgrims every day. A local cleric has claimed that the silver … <\/p>\n

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