TEHRAN: Two people have died in Iran after testing positive on Wednesday for the new coronavirus, the health ministry said, in the Islamic republic's first cases of the disease.
They are also the first deaths from the COVID-19 virus in the Middle East and only the seventh and eighth outside China where the outbreak has killed more than 2,000 people.
State news agency IRNA quoted Kianoush Jahanpour, a ministry spokesman, as saying the virus was detected in two elderly people with immunity problems in the city of Qom, south of the Iranian capital.
"Following the recent cases of chronic respiratory diseases in Qom, two of the patients tested positive in preliminary tests," it quoted him as saying.
"Unfortunately both passed away in the intensive care unit due to old age and issues with their immune system."
The state news agency had earlier quoted Jahanpour as saying that the "new coronavirus" had been confirmed in two people and that other suspected cases were isolated.
IRNA also quoted a media adviser to Iran's health minister as saying two people had died after testing positive for the coronavirus.
"Both of the people who had tested positive for coronavirus were in Qom and were old. Both have passed away," said Alireza Vahabzadeh.
Coronavirus kills two in Iran
https://arab.news/vwanz
Coronavirus kills two in Iran
- Authorities did not say how many people were suspected of having the virus
- The two confirmed cases were detected in the central province of Qom
Iranian FM slams WEF’s double standards after revoking his invite, but keeping Israeli President’s
DUBAI: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has criticised the World Economic Forum (WEF) for rescinding his invitation to the annual meeting in Davos amid his government’s harsh crackdown on nationwide protests, accusing the forum of succumbing to Western pressure and applying “blatant double standards.”
The WEF confirmed that Araghchi will not attend this year’s summit, running until Jan. 23, saying that “although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year.”
In a series of posts on X, Araghchi rejected the decision, claiming his appearance was cancelled “on the basis of lies and political pressure from Israel and its U.S.‑based proxies and apologists.”
The Iranian minister criticised what he called the WEF’s “blatant double standards” for keeping an invitation open to Israel’s president despite ongoing allegations of civilian deaths in Gaza. He also referenced Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s participation in last year’s forum in Davos in January 2024 despite facing charges of genocide at the International Criminal Court.
“If WEF wants to feign a supposedly ‘moral’ stance, that is its prerogative. But it should at least be consistent about it,” Araghchi wrote, arguing that the decision exposed a “moral depravity and intellectual bankruptcy.”
