Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei has been hospitalized with COVID-19, the Mehr news agency reported on Monday, the latest among several officials to have been infected with the new coronavirus.
Iran has the Middle East’s highest number of recorded COVID-19 cases and infections and deaths have risen sharply since restrictions on movement began to be eased in mid-April.
There have been a total of 293,606 cases and 255,144 recoveries in the Islamic Republic, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari announced on state TV on Monday.
The latest daily death toll of 212 brings the total number of deaths to 15,912.
A vice president, a member of the Expediency Council and several parliamentarians are among the officials who have been infected with the coronavirus.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged people on Saturday to observe health protocols and practice social distancing during upcoming Muslim festivities, as a health official said there had been a surge in coronavirus infections in a major holy city.
Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi, speaking on state television on Saturday, urged people not to visit the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, which he said had seen an increase of 300% in COVID-19 cases over a one month period.
From the end of this month Muslims around the world will mark the Eid Al-Adha feast. This year, Saudi Arabia will limit the number of domestic pilgrims attending Hajj to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Iran government spokesman tests positive for coronavirus
https://arab.news/92cnz
Iran government spokesman tests positive for coronavirus
- There have been a total of 293,606 cases and 255,144 recoveries in Iran
France deploys jets over UAE to protect its military bases
PARIS: France has deployed Rafale fighter jets over the United Arab Emirates to protect its naval and air bases against Iranian attacks, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Tuesday.
France has hundreds of navy, air force and army personnel based in the UAE. Its Rafale aircraft are stationed at Al-Dhafra base near Abu Dhabi.
“These Rafales and their pilots are mobilized to ensure the security of our facilities,” Barrot told broadcaster BFMTV in response to a question on French action in the UAE over the weekend to neutralize Iranian drones.
“They have carried out operations to secure the airspace above our bases.”
On Sunday, “a hangar at a French base in the United Arab Emirates was hit by a drone,” Barrot said.
“Exchanges are multiplying to determine both how the country can defend itself against future attacks and how France can protect its interests there,” he added.
France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier was however in the North Atlantic, as part of a previously planned multinational exercise, Barrot said, after he was asked if it had been sent to the Mediterranean.
To the best of his knowledge, it had not changed course, he said.
The United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on Saturday, killing Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran has responded by targeting US allies in the Gulf region.
Debris from a drone interception caused a fire that was contained at an oil industry zone in the Fujairah emirate on Tuesday, authorities said.
In Abu Dhabi, a drone struck a fuel tank terminal on Monday, causing a fire though operations were not impacted.
Tech giant Amazon said late on Monday that two of its data centers in the UAE were “directly struck” by drones, disrupting cloud services in parts of the Middle East.
