Iran Says 'Curbing Virus' Even With Over 2,000 New Cases

Iran on Wednesday said it was close to "curbing" the new coronavirus outbreak even as it reported more than 2,000 fresh infections for the third day in a row.

"We have been progressing at every step in the past three months... in fighting this dangerous virus and are nearly on the verge of curbing this disease," said President Hassan Rouhani.

Iran would "even not have these problems" if health protocols "were more closely observed in some of the provinces that are currently in an unfavourable situation", he told a televised cabinet meeting.

At least 24 of Iran's 434 counties were "red"—the highest level on the country's color-coded risk scale, according to deputy health minister Alireza Raisi.

He said at a virus taskforce meeting broadcast on Tuesday that 218 counties were still deemed low-risk, which could drop to 183 since the virus had "started peaking" in some regions.

He added that most of the fatalities since Iran reported its first two deaths in February were above 70 years old, and that younger Iranians were in less danger.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 2,346 new infections were confirmed across the country in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 126,949.

More than 98,800 of those hospitalised had recovered and were discharged, while 2,673 were in critical condition.

He also raised the death toll to 7,183 with 64 fatalities in the past day.

According to Jahanpour, there were no deaths over the same period in nearly a third of Iran's provinces, while eight others only had one.

Khuzestan province was still the worst-hit, and the rest of the country was in "relative stability", he added.

Iran's virus cases have been on a rising trajectory since May 2, when it reported its lowest new infections since March 10.

A taskforce official said Sunday that the rise was due to a surge in testing as Iran started "looking at those infected and not hospitalised".

"It is possible that the reported number of infections have gone up, but this in no way means more have been infected with COVID-19," said Ali Akbar Haghdoost.

Experts both at home and abroad have voiced skepticism about Iran's official figures, saying the real toll could be much higher.

Photo: IRNA

US Hits Top Iranian Officials for Human Rights Abuses

The US government imposed sanctions on Wednesday on an Iranian government minister and senior law enforcement and military officials over human rights abuses.

"The Iranian regime violently suppresses dissent of the Iranian people, including peaceful protests, through physical and psychological abuse," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. 

"The United States will continue to hold accountable Iranian officials and institutions that oppress and abuse their own people."

The sanctions target Interior Minister and chair of Iran's National Domestic Security Council (NDSC), Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, seven law enforcement officials and an IRGC commander.

The Treasury alleged that Rahmani Fazli has issued orders authorizing Iran's Law Enforcement Force to use "lethal force in response to the November 2019 protests, resulting in violence against peaceful protestors and bystanders. His orders led to the killing of many protestors, including at least 23 minors."

Washington also targeted IRGC Brigadier General Hassan Shahvarpour Najafabadi, Law Enforcement Force Commander Hossein Ashtari Fard, and Deputy Commander Ayoub Soleimani.

The sanctions block all US assets and property of the officials and prevent US financial institutions from dealing with them. 

The steps also have implications for foreign banks and businesses which can run afoul of US authorities if they engage in transactions with sanctioned officials or firms.

The State Department also sanctioned Rahmani Fazli for "his involvement in gross violations of human rights," barring him and his family from entering the United States.

The US government said the LEF was "responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses that have occurred since the disputed June 2009 presidential election and ensuing protests."

The LEF also operates detention centers associated with physical and psychological abuses, and was implicated in the torture and drowning of Afghan nationals attempting to cross into Iran, according to the US government.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Reports Over 2,100 New Virus Cases

Iran on Tuesday reported no new coronavirus deaths in nearly a third of its provinces for 24 hours but said there were more than another 2,100 cases of infection nationwide.

The virus spread rapidly to all 31 of Iran's provinces soon after the country's first cases—two deaths in the holy city of Qom—were announced three months ago. 

"Ten provinces have reported zero deaths in the past 24 hours and six others only one," said health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour.

The southwestern province of Khuzestan was still classified as "red"—the highest level on the country's color-coded risk scale, he said.

But the situation was "stable" in most other provinces, Jahanpour told a televised news conference.

Khuzestan was currently the only province still classified as red, he added.

The official had warned in previous days of a deteriorating situation in the provinces of Lorestan, North Khorasan, Kerman, Sistan and Baluchistan and Kermanshah.

On Tuesday, he said 62 fatalities in the past 24 hours had taken the overall death toll in the country's outbreak to 7,199.

Another 2,111 new infections were confirmed over the same period, he said, raising the total caseload to 124,603.

More than 97,170 of those hospitalized with the virus had recovered and been discharged, he added.

Experts both at home and abroad have voiced skepticism about Iran's official figures, saying the real toll could be much higher.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Announces New Phase in Virus Fight Despite Nearly 2,300 New Cases

Iran on Monday said it was entering a new phase of trying to eliminate the novel coronavirus after bringing the Middle East's deadliest outbreak under control in many regions.

"Reports show we have passed the management and control phase and are now in the phase of curbing" the spread of COVID-19, government spokesman Ali Rabiei told a televised news conference.

But even as Rabiei gave the upbeat assessment in Iran's three-month struggle against the illness, the health ministry announced nearly 2,300 new infections—the highest official single-day number since April 5.

Rabiei defended the Iranian government's decision to reopen businesses in recent weeks.

"We can have fewer deaths, keep people's daily lives in motion and not cripple the economy even when the coronavirus exists," he said.

Iran, he said, now had 280 "white" counties—the lowest level on the country's color-coded risk scale—out of its 434.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said meanwhile that 2,294 new infections were confirmed in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 122,492.

Jahanpour added that 1,760 of the new cases were outpatients and people who had been in close contact with those infected.

More than 95,600 of those hospitalised with the virus had recovered and been discharged.

Rabiei said that put Iran "in third global place in recoveries after China and Switzerland" with "a recovery rate of almost 94 percent".

The health ministry raised the virus death toll to 7,057, with 69 fatalities in the past day.

Experts both at home and abroad have voiced scepticism about Iran's official figures, saying the real toll could be much higher.

Jahanpour said the situation was becoming critical in the provinces of Lorestan, North Khorasan, Kerman, Sistan and Baluchistan, and Kermanshah.

Khuzestan, which is still in the high-risk "red" category, accounted for about a quarter of the new cases detected in the past 24 hours, he added.

The southwestern province has become Iran's new coronavirus hotspot and is the only region so far where authorities have reimposed business lockdowns after a country-wide relaxation in April.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Warns US Against Disrupting Oil Shipments to Venezuela

Iran's foreign minister on Sunday warned the US against deploying its navy in the Caribbean to disrupt Iranian fuel shipments to Venezuela.

In a letter to United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Mohammad Javad Zarif warned against "America's movements in deploying its navy to the Caribbean in order to intervene and create disruption in (the) transfer of Iran's fuel to Venezuela."

He said that any such action would be "illegal and a form of piracy," according to a foreign ministry statement. 

Zarif added that the US would be responsible for "the consequences of any illegal measure."

Iran's Fars News claimed Saturday that it had received information that four US Navy warships are in the Caribbean for a "possible confrontation with Iran's tankers."

Elliot Abrams, the State Department's Venezuela envoy, has alleged that Caracas is paying Iran in gold to restore its troubled oil sector.

The US has imposed unilateral sanctions aimed at ending oil exports by both Iran and Venezuela, both major crude producers.

Zarif's deputy has summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents Washington's interests in Tehran, to communicate Iran's "serious warning".

Abbas Araghchi said any potential threat to Iran's tankers would be met with a "quick and decisive response."

Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves but analysts say that the sector operates below capacity.

The country's economy is in a state of collapse, with millions fleeing as they lack basic goods.

Iran has also taken a hit from renewed US sanctions after US President Donald Trump pulled out of a nuclear accord in 2018.

Maduro has withstood more than a year of US-led efforts to remove him and retains the support of the military.

Iran has repeatedly expressed support for Maduro against opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is recognised by some 60 nations as interim president due to reports of irregularities in Maduro's 2018 re-election.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Reports 2,102 New Virus Cases, Highest in Over Month

By Amir Havasi

Iran on Friday reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections in more than a month as it warned of clusters hitting new regions.

Iran has struggled to contain the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease since its first cases emerged in mid-February.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 2,102 new cases were confirmed across the country in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall total to 116,635.

That figure is the highest Iran has announced for a single day since April 6.

Jahanpour said the virus had claimed another 48 lives over the same period, raising the overall death toll to 6,902.

The southwestern province of Khuzestan remained "red"—the top level of Iran's color-coded risk scale.

Several more provinces could be added to that level of alert, he said.

"Other provinces that we may see rising infections in are Lorestan, Sistan and Baluchistan, and East Azerbaijan," Jahanpour said in televised remarks.

The spokesman issued what he called a "warning" to residents of the provinces to observe health protocols.

Lorestan lies in western Iran, East Azerbaijan in the northwest, and Sistan and Baluchistan in the southeast bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Schools to Reopen Partially

Jahanpour had said on Thursday that North Khorasan province in the northeast may also be close to "critical condition".

Khuzestan is the only province so far where authorities have reimposed stringent measures like shutting businesses after a countrywide relaxation in April.

Iran stopped publishing provincial figures for the coronavirus last month.

A spokesman for the province's virus taskforce, Reza Nejati, said Thursday schools would not reopen in Khuzestan later this week, ISNA news agency reported.

Iran closed schools in early March along with universities and public places including cinemas to contain the virus.

But it announced last week that schools would partially reopen as of Saturday with only teachers present as students' attendance is not mandatory.

The government also reopened mosques on Wednesday for three nights so that worshippers can pray during one of the holiest times of the year for Muslims.

The reopening was granted for Laylat al-Qadr—a high point during the fasting month of Ramadan that marks when the Koran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed.

Of those hospitalised with COVID-19 nationwide since the first cases announced in the Shiite holy city of Qom on February 19, 91,836 have recovered and been discharged, according to the health ministry.

Experts both at home and abroad have voiced skepticism about Iran's official figures, saying the real toll could be much higher.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Warns of Virus Cluster Spread, Says 71 More Dead

Iran warned of a possible coronavirus cluster hitting another province on Thursday as it announced 71 new deaths and more than 1,800 infections nationwide.

"We are in situation similar to previous days (in most provinces) save for Khuzestan, which is still in a critical condition, and it seems that North Khorasan may be critical as well," said health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour.

"If this trend continues, North Khorasan will require more serious measures, too," he added in televised remarks.

North Khorasan province lies in northeastern Iran on the border with Turkmenistan. Khuzestan province in the southwest borders Iraq.

The ministry had on Monday signalled a setback in its efforts to contain the virus in Khuzestan where authorities shut state bodies, banks and non-essential businesses again in around a third of its counties.

Iran stopped publishing provincial figures for the coronavirus last month.

Authorities in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, have also warned of a fresh spike in infections.

"We had not seen such an increase in coronavirus infections since" late February, said Ghasem Miri, deputy head of provincial capital Zahedan's medical university.

The total number of people infected in the province had hit 909, of whom 821 had recovered and 59 died, Miri told ILNA news agency on Tuesday.

Miri said the jump was due to the failure of people to observe "social distancing and health protocols".

Iran has deemed more than 150 counties across the country as low-risk from the virus and has allowed them to reopen mosques.

Since April 11, it has allowed a phased reopening of its economy and lifted restrictions on intercity travel.

Iran's deputy health minister also announced on Thursday that athletes in 29 sports—including track and field, tennis and weightlifting—could resume training.

Iraj Harirchi also told ISNA news agency that a decision about Iran's top flight football league would be made on Saturday.

According to health ministry spokesman Jahanpour, the latest deaths brought the official toll to 6,854.

He said 1,808 new cases of COVID-19 infection had been detected, raising the total to 114,533.

Of those hospitalized, 90,539 had recovered and been discharged, while 2,758 were in critical condition.

Photo: IRNA

Virus-Hit Iran to Reopen Mosques for Holy Nights

Virus-hit Iran will reopen its mosques for three nights over the next week so that worshippers can pray during one of the holiest times of year, a minister said Tuesday.

The Islamic republic shut its mosques and shrines in March as part of its efforts to contain the Middle East's deadliest outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

The reopening was granted for Laylat al-Qadr—a high point during the fasting month of Ramadan that marks when the Koran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed.

But Health Minister Saeed Namaki sounded a note of caution as he announced that worshippers would be allowed to attend mosques and ceremonies for three of the next five nights.

"The biggest strategic mistake is to think that coronavirus is finished," he said in remarks broadcast on state television.

"At any time, we can go back to bad circumstances" due to "negligence", said Namaki.

"Our priority is to hold ceremonies outdoors" such as "in stadiums", he said, "so that social distancing is properly observed."

Namaki said his ministry agreed in a meeting to help "organise ceremonies from midnight to 2:00 am during the nights of Qadr".

He said the move came in response to "concern" expressed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but stressed the supreme leader "always supports all measures" to contain the virus.

Dozens of New Fatalities

All gatherings would need to respect "sanitary protocols to the maximum", he added.

But he warned: "They shouldn't blame the health ministry and say they wanted to open mosques but didn't care about people's health".

His remarks came shortly before Iran announced another 48 deaths from the virus taking its overall toll to 6,733.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said another 1,481 people tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 110,767 since the start of the crisis.

Iran has struggled to contain its outbreak of the virus that causes COVID-19 since announcing its first cases in the Shiite holy city of Qom on February 19.

The government closed schools, postponed major events and banned inter-city travel but it has eased restrictions gradually since April 11.

It allowed mosques to reopen on May 4 in 132 counties where the virus was deemed to be under control.

And on Friday last week worshippers were able to attend the main weekly prayers for the first time in more than two months, except for in the capital.

The government warned on Monday of a setback in its efforts to contain the virus.

"We have regressed in Khuzestan due to (people) not observing health protocols," Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi said, referring to a southwestern province that is now the epicentre of the country's outbreak.

"This can happen to any other province if we are not careful," he added, noting that tighter measures would be reimposed in other places too if needed.

Experts inside and outside Iran have cast doubt on the country's official COVID-19 figures, and say the real toll could be much higher.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Reports 45 New Virus Deaths

Iran on Monday warned of a setback in its efforts to contain the novel coronavirus unless health protocols are observed more closely, as it reported 45 new COVID-19 deaths.

The southwestern province of Khuzestan has become the new focal point of Iran's COVID-19 outbreak with authorities reimposing strict measures to halt its spread.

"We have regressed in Khuzestan due to the increase in hospitalizations and not observing health protocols," Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi said in televised remarks.

"This can happen to any other province if we are not careful," he added, noting that tighter measures would be reimposed in other places too if needed.

Authorities have shut down state bodies, banks and non-essential businesses again in nine of Khuzestan's counties.

Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiei said "less than 50 percent" of Khuzestan residents have observed health protocols.

"We've seen a rising trend of infection and death (in Khuzestan) which shows protocols and social distancing are not being observed," he said in a televised news conference.

The health ministry stopped publishing provincial figures for the coronavirus last month.

State television aired images on Monday showing many maskless residents of the capital out and about.

Some of those interviewed explained that they now felt the weather was too hot to wear masks, while others thought the heat could kill the virus.

The new fatalities brought to 6,685 the overall confirmed death toll in Iran, according to health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour. 

He also said that 1,683 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 109,286.

Out of those hospitalized, 87,422 have recovered so far while 2,703 were in critical condition.

Iranian police have shut 1,300 websites and arrested 320 people accused of spreading rumors about the virus, state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday.

They were accused of "disturbing public opinion", the news agency said.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Says Ready for Prisoner Swap With US

Iran said Sunday it had expressed readiness for a full prisoner exchange with the United States "with no preconditions" but that Washington was yet to respond.

"We said some time ago that we are ready to exchange all Iranian and American prisoners," ISNA news agency quoted government spokesman Ali Rabiei as saying.

"It now appears that America is more ready than before to end this situation," he added, noting that Iran was waiting for a reply.

"Washington has been notified of our readiness and we think no mediator is needed."

The Islamic Republic in December freed Xiyue Wang, a US academic, in an exchange for scientist Massoud Soleimani and said it was open to further swaps.

Rabiei also expressed concern about the health of some Iranian prisoners detained in the United States and claimed they are not being treated well.

One of them is Sirous Asgari, an Iranian scientist infected with the novel coronavirus while in detention, according to the Iranian foreign ministry.

A ministry spokesman said last week that "everything is prepared" and declared "he will soon return to Iran" without elaborating further.

Iran is holding US citizens Siamak Namazi, convicted on charges that include espionage, his father Baquer and environmental expert Morad Tahbaz.

According to the US State Department, Iran temporarily released US Navy veteran Micheal White on March 19.

Both countries have called for releasing prisoners over the virus outbreak.

Iran is battling what is the Middle East's most deadly outbreak, while the US has reported the highest total number of virus deaths worldwide.

Iran has temporarily released more than 100,000 inmates in several stages since March, according to its judiciary.

Photo: IRNA

Iranians Fearful as Virus Infections Rebound Amid Eased Lockdown

By Ahmad Parhizi

While many people in Iran's capital are taking advantage of loosened COVID-19 controls, some worry about a new spike in infections in what remains the Middle East's deadliest virus epicenter.

"The line of fools," muttered shopkeeper Manouchehr, peering disdainfully at a queue of customers outside a foreign currency dealer in the Sadeghieh district of western Tehran.

Many in the long line stood close to one another and did not wear masks.

A traffic policeman told AFP such queues have appeared regularly ever since the money changers re-opened. People rarely observe basic anti-contagion protocols, he complained.

The government began paring back coronavirus controls outside Tehran a month ago, arguing that the economy—already sagging under punitive US sanctions—needed to get back to bare bones operations.

It allowed small businesses to reopen in the capital a week later, before permitting malls to welcome customers on April 21 and barbers on Wednesday.

At 802, declared daily infections in Iran on May 2 had reached their lowest level since early March.

But this critical daily number has since begun resurging, breaching 1,500 on Saturday and, the following day, taking the total number of confirmed infections beyond 107,000.

"The situation should in no way be considered normal," said health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour, who warned of "a critical situation" in parts of the country.

In the capital, a member of the virus taskforce warned that current health protocols could not contain the spread of the illness in Tehran.

"With businesses reopening, people have forgotten about the protocols," Ali Maher told ISNA news agency, adding that "maybe it was too soon" to return to normal life.

‘Endangering Our Lives'

The capital's streets, bazaars and malls are now bustling after being nearly deserted for weeks.

Milad, a shopkeeper in a mall, was conflicted about the easing of movement restrictions.

"All these customers coming in will endanger our lives—us who are forced to come" to work, he said.

The mall gets very busy in the evenings, noted the 22-year-old, who did not wear any protective equipment.

The COVID-19 respiratory disease has killed 6,640 people in Iran since the first two fatalities were reported in the city of Qom on February 19, according to authorities.

Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi has called Tehran the country's "Achilles heel" in the fight against the virus.

Its eight million residents are densely packed together and the capital is a magnet for hundreds of thousands of workers from other provinces.

The government moved to ease restrictions even as Tehran remained at red, the top level of its colour coded risk scale.

Schools, universities, cinemas and stadiums remain closed for now.

‘Life Costs Money'

"People being careful made infections drop, but as soon as the disease was deemed less of a concern, we saw cases grow," said Masoud Mardani, an infectious disease expert at the health ministry.

The rise is "partly due to the reopening and people going out shopping," he told the semi-official ISNA news agency, while also citing an increase in travel in Tehran province.

Health officials have vowed to re-impose stringent measures if cases continue to climb, and have already done so in the southwestern Khuzestan province.

But many Iranians remain adamant that they have to work to avoid financial ruin.

"Life costs money," said Hamed. "People have to go to work since this virus has been with us for about three months now."

The 22-year-old was among those out on the streets without a mask, deeming such protection "largely ineffective".

He had travelled over 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Qom to Tehran for banking business for the private firm that employs him.

It is a trip he has to undertake every few days and says he cannot refuse for fear of losing his job.

A few streets away, pedestrians were shopping for fresh vegetables and dried fruit—mostly women or older men, but this time, mainly in masks.

"I think maybe only half the people follow health protocols" across the capital, said Zahra, a 30-year-old accountant.

"Either people don't care or don't have the patience" to wear a mask, she said.

Mohammad, a former building contractor, complained that masks were expensive and in short supply.

A disposable surgical mask can cost from 49,000 rials (30 US cents, using the unofficial rate) to 10 or 15 times that amount for the better quality durable coverings.

"They should have given them to people for free," said the mask-less 58-year-old.

But Mohammad's biggest gripe was overcrowding on buses, where red crosses marked on half of the seats to ensure social distancing are routinely ignored.

Photo: IRNA

Despite U.S. Sanctions, Iran Expands Its Nuclear Stockpile

By Colum Lynch

Two years after President Donald Trump announced the U.S withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, Tehran has resumed its enrichment of uranium, restarted research and development on advanced centrifuges, and expanded its stockpile of nuclear fuel, cutting in half the time it would need to produce enough weapons-grade fuel to build a nuclear bomb.

“Iran is manifestly closer to being able to produce a nuclear weapon than they were two years ago,” said Richard Nephew, who participated in negotiations on the landmark nuclear deal in 2015.

While there is no evidence Tehran is preparing a dash for a nuclear weapon, the Iranian advances raise questions about the success of the White House’s so-called “maximum pressure” campaign, which is aimed at forcing Iran through the imposition of ever more stringent sanctions to accept greater constraints on its political and military support for regional militias and the development of its ballistic missile program.

The effort—which has severely damaged Iran’s economy—has yet to temper Iran’s nuclear ambitions, instead prompting Tehran to resume nuclear activities prohibited by the nuclear pact, which is formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. It has also eroded Washington’s credibility even among many of its traditional allies and placed increasing strains on America’s diplomatic partnerships.

This month, the U.S. State Department publicly unveiled a diplomatic effort to secure a tangible result from its pressure campaign in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election—an agreement by the U.N. Security Council to extend a conventional arms embargo that is scheduled to expire on Oct. 18, just weeks before the election. Back in February, the United States privately circulated elements of a draft Security Council resolution extending the arms embargo to Britain, France, and Germany, hoping to rally support for the initiative.

The United States received a chilly response from the Europeans, who argued that the resolution was all but certain to be vetoed by China and Russia, which plan to sell arms to Iran once the embargo expires. The Europeans say they share Washington’s concerns about Iran’s ballistic missile programs and its support for proxies, including Hezbollah and other militias spread across the Middle East. But they fault Washington with undermining a landmark nuclear pact that enjoyed broad international support and which they believed had succeeded in constraining Tehran’s nuclear program, until the United States ditched it.

Last week, Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, warned that if the council failed to agree to extend the embargo, Washington could deliver a potentially lethal blow to the nuclear agreement by triggering a provision that would allow any of the initial seven signatories to reimpose—or snap back—all Iran sanctions, including the conventional arms embargo, that were in force before the nuclear pact was concluded. Iran has warned that if the sanctions are reimposed, it will likely pull out of the nuclear pact, end international inspections of its nuclear energy program, and withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

Such a move by Washington would raise complex political, diplomatic, and legal questions about whether the United States, which withdrew its participation in the nuclear deal on May 8, 2018, has the legal right or the moral authority to trigger the snapback provision. Under the terms of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the nuclear deal, any participant in the nuclear pact has the right to single-handedly snap back the previous sanctions. Trump administration officials contend that while the United States is no longer a participant in the nuclear deal, it still retains all the rights of a participant under the resolution, which has never been overturned. And they intend to exercise that right if they don’t get their way.

“There is no qualification in 2231 where ‘participant’ is defined in a way to require participation in the JCPOA. And if the drafters wanted to make the qualification, they could have, but they did not,” Hook told reporters on April 30. “This is the plain reading of the text.”

“The arms embargo must be renewed, and we will exercise all diplomatic options to accomplish that,” Hook said. “We have a policy goal of renewing the arms embargo, and that’s where our focus is. We’re hopeful that we’ll succeed.”

John Bellinger III, who served as the principal legal advisor to the National Security Council and the State Department during the George W. Bush administration, said the United States can make a credible legal case for reimposing sanctions but that the outcome could prove self-defeating.

“The U.S. has the right to trigger snapback, but they may ultimately not be effective in achieving what they want to achieve,” he said, warning that states may be disinclined to observe such sanctions. “There is a real risk it could backfire if the other countries are unwilling to go along. If you try to lead but no one will follow, you have not been successful, and the U.S. will have fractured the Security Council.”

“I suspect, at the end of the day, the Security Council will be forced on a purely legal basis to conclude we have the right to submit the resolution [triggering snapback],” Nephew said. “The debate will split the council as a point of fact because you will have the French, Brits, and Germans screaming that we are not doing this in good faith and the Russians and the Chinese will lose their minds on this.” The practical outcome of this approach, he said, is that the Chinese and Russians will cry foul and declare the action illegitimate. “I have no doubt they will sell arms and will do so immediately. Those tanks that [U.S. Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo is so concerned about could be put on the next boat.”

European officials have fumed in private over the latest U.S. threat, which they suspect is designed to kill off the nuclear pact. They view Washington’s legalistic approach as inconsistent and hypocritical, noting that the very resolution being invoked by the United States to reimpose sanctions also calls on states to support the implementation of the nuclear pact. One senior European official also pointed out that a key provision in the U.N. Charter, Article 25, states that “the Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present Charter”—a provision that the United States has ignored.

The U.S. strategy is “legally and politically obscene,” a U.N.-based diplomat privately toldthe International Crisis Group.

Russia has said publicly what some of its European partners are saying privately.

“Their reasoning is ludicrous, of course,” Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to the U.N. in Vienna, said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant published on April 28. “It is common knowledge that Washington officially announced its withdrawal from the nuclear deal on May 8, 2018.”

“Theoretically, an attempt of this sort is possible, but it will make the U.S. appear in an extremely unattractive light,” he added. “I don’t think that the U.N. Security Council members would be ready to support the U.S. bid to remain a JCPOA participant. It is clear to everybody that this is preposterous. … The attempt to implement this plan will cause a lot of harm and lead to stormy debates in the U.N. Security Council.”

Democratic lawmakers who supported the JCPOA chided the administration for withdrawing from it in the first place and then later trying to use the deal to advance its goals. “They’re trying to have it both ways,” one Democratic congressional aide said.

Nevertheless, a bipartisan majority in Congress—including some of Trump’s most stalwart critics on the left—supports extending the Iran arms embargo. Hundreds of House lawmakers from both sides signed on to a letter to Pompeo last month urging an extension of the ban. “[W]e are concerned that the ban’s expiration will lead to more states buying and selling weapons to and from Iran. … This could have disastrous consequences for U.S. national security and our regional allies,” read the letter, which was organized by Reps. Eliot Engel and Michael McCaul, the chairman and the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, respectively.

“It’s now just several months out where China, Russia, other countries from around the world can all sell significant conventional weapons systems to the Iranians in October of this year,” Pompeo told reporters in a briefing last week. “This isn’t far off. This isn’t some fantasy by conservatives. This is a reality.”

The 2015 Iran nuclear pact—the culmination of more than a decade of diplomatic efforts to contain Iran’s nuclear program—offered Tehran an end to crippling economic sanctions in exchange for limiting its nuclear activities and undertaking a set of verifiable commitments to assure the world it was not building nuclear weapons. It was signed by representatives of Britain, China, the European Union, Iran, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States.

Trump derided the nuclear pact—a signature foreign-policy achievement for President Barack Obama—as a flawed agreement that gave Iran access to billions of dollars that have since been used to fund Iranian-backed militias and to advance a ballistic missile program that could improve Iran’s ability in the future to deliver a nuclear payload. On May 8, 2018, Trump formally withdrew from the agreement and began a process of imposing a range of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Despite European government efforts to circumvent those sanctions, European businesses have largely observed the U.S. measures, fearing their companies could be penalized and denied access to U.S. consumer financial markets.

Iran has insisted for years that it has never had any desire to build nuclear weapons, but U.S. and other intelligence agencies have long contended that Tehran had been secretly developing nuclear weapons for years. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that it had been working on a nuclear weapon design until at least 2009. But the IAEA also claimed that Iran had stopped its design work and was in compliance with its obligations under the nuclear pact until the United States reneged on the deal.

A year after the United States withdrew from the pact, Tehran began a process of violating its own commitments under the pact, announcing on May 8, 2019, that it would no longer be bound by limits on the size of its stockpiles of enriched uranium. Iran subsequently stepped up activities at the Natanz and Fordow enrichment facilities, increasing stores of a more purified grade of uranium that could bring it close to producing weapons-grade fuel. Iran also restarted prohibited research and development work on advanced centrifuges, which would enable the country to purify its uranium at a greater speed.

Under the terms of the nuclear pact, Iran is permitted to stockpile up to 300 kilograms of low-enriched uranium, far short of the estimated 1,050 kilograms required to produce enough weapons-grade fuel for a single bomb. But in March, the IAEA reported that Iran had produced 1,021 kilograms of low-enriched uranium, making it all but certain it has enough raw uranium to build a bomb. If Iran decided to pursue a nuclear weapon, according to Nephew, the larger stockpile would cut down its so-called breakout time—the time it would take to convert the low-enriched uranium into weapons-grade fuel—from 12 months to about six months.

But some arms control experts cautioned that Iran would still need to overcome considerable technical hurdles to weaponize and deploy a nuclear weapon. They suspect that Iran’s violations have been carefully calibrated to apply pressure on the other signatories of the nuclear pact to ease sanctions on Iran.

The Iranians’ “actions and statements indicate they are not racing to build a nuclear weapon or amass material for a nuclear weapon,” said Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association. “They are retaliating in a measured way to the U.S. reimposition of sanctions, and they have threatened to go further if the situation continues indefinitely.”

In January, after Iran rejected any constraints on its enrichment of uranium, the foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany called out Iran for violating the terms of the nuclear pact and jointly triggered a so-called dispute settlement mechanism to press Tehran to come back into compliance or face the prospect of the Europeans declaring it in breach of its obligations—an action that would lead to the reimposition of sanctions. But the Europeans also faulted the United States for withdrawing from the nuclear accord and expressed their hopes that the initiative would compel Iran to reverse course.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said at the time that the Europeans “could no longer leave the growing Iranian violations of the nuclear agreement unanswered.”

“Our goal is clear,” he said. “We want to preserve the accord and come to a diplomatic solution within the agreement.”

Richard Gowan, the U.N. director at the International Crisis Group, said Washington’s threat to trigger the snapback may be designed to “scare the Europeans into backing alternative ways to keep the arms embargo alive.”

Gowan said European diplomats had suspected that the United States might try to convince Britain to break with its European partners, declare Tehran in breach of its obligations, and trigger the snapback provision. “The fact the U.S. is making the case that it can still do snapback itself implies that the British option may not be available.”

“I am not sure there is a compromise available,” he added, noting that the Europeans may be paying as much attention as Trump to the U.S. election calendar. “The higher the chances of [Joe] Biden victory in November, the less likely the E3 [the three European signatories to the nuclear pact] will be to buy a U.S. snapback drive.”

Photo: IRNA

Iran Says Virus Outbreak 'Relatively Stable' Despite Uptick

Iran said on Thursday its coronavirus outbreak was "relatively stable" as it announced another 68 deaths as well as more than 1,000 infections for a fourth straight day.

The Islamic republic has battled to contain the Middle East's deadliest outbreak of the COVID-19 illness since reporting its first cases in mid-February.

On Saturday the government's official tally of daily infections hit 802—its lowest level since March 10.

Iran's count stayed below 1,000 again on Sunday, however its caseload has bounced back up above that mark on each day since then.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the situation was "relatively stable" as he announced that the latest fatalities took the overall death toll to 6,486.

Jahanpour said there were 1,485 new cases of infection, putting the country's outbreak total at 103,135.

"More than 986 of these individuals had mild to moderate symptoms, or they were outpatients, or family members of infected patients," he said.

Of all those infected, he added, 82,744 people had recovered from the illness and been discharged from hospital.

Doubts have been raised about the tolls issued by Iran since it announced its first cases on February 19 -- two deaths in the Shiite holy city of Qom.

Photo: IRNA

Quake Jolts Iran Capital, Sparking Panic

An earthquake near Iran's highest mountain killed at least one person and jolted the capital Tehran early Friday, forcing panicked residents to flee buildings.

The shallow 4.6 magnitude quake hit at 00:48 am local time near the city of Damavand, about 55 kilometers east of Tehran, the US Geological Survey said.

It saw scores of residents of the capital exit buildings for the safety of streets and parks, AFP journalists reported.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on Twitter that the tremor claimed the life of one person and injured seven others.

He called on people to "keep calm" and to follow safety guidelines.

The USGS said on its website that the quake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres. Its epicentre was south of Mount Damavand, a volcanic mountain which at 5,671 metres (18,606 feet) is Iran's highest peak. 

Iran sits on top of major tectonic plates and experiences frequent seismic activity.

A 5.7 magnitude earthquake that rattled the western village of Habash-e Olya on February 23 killed at least nine people over the border in neighbouring Turkey.

In November 2017, a 7.3-magnitude quake in Iran's western province of Kermanshah killed 620 people.

In 2003, a 6.6-magnitude quake in southeastern Iran decimated the ancient mud-brick city of Bam and killed at least 31,000 people. 

Iran's deadliest quake was a 7.4-magnitude tremor in 1990 that killed 40,000 people in northern Iran, injured 300,000 and left half a million homeless.

In December and January, two earthquakes struck near Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Iran's Persian Gulf neighbors have raised concerns about the reliability of the country's sole nuclear power facility, which produces 1,000 megawatts of power, and the risk of radioactive leaks in case of a major earthquake.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Blasts 'Stupid' US Nuclear Pullout, Warns Over Arms Ban

Iran's president said Wednesday the United States made a "stupid mistake" by abandoning a nuclear deal and warned of severe consequences if its allies agree to extend an arms embargo.

The United States is waging a campaign to extend the ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran, which is set to be progressively eased starting in October.

The ban is to be lifted in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which blessed the landmark international agreement that placed limits on Iran's nuclear program in 2015.

US President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord—known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA—in 2018 and began reimposing sanctions on the Islamic republic.

"America made a very stupid mistake by abandoning this agreement," his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, said at a televised cabinet meeting.

"The wise thing for the US is to return to the JCPOA... but those in charge today won't ever reach such wisdom," he added.

Rouhani said the lifting of the embargo was "an inseparable part" of the nuclear accord.

"If it is ever reimposed... they know well what severe consequences and what historical defeat awaits them if they make such a mistake."

Rouhani did not elaborate on the consequences but said they were detailed in a letter sent previously to the remaining parties to the deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

Tehran has progressively scaled back its commitments to the JCPOA in retaliation to the US pullout and what it sees as European inaction to salvage the accord.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary, Ali Shamkhani, warned Sunday that the deal would "die forever" if the embargo is extended.

Tehran has in the past threatened to retaliate against any reimposition of UN sanctions by withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Washington has said it would use a legal argument based on an interpretation of Resolution 2231 that it remains a "participant" in the deal despite renouncing it, and can extend the arms embargo on Tehran or see more stringent sanctions reimposed.

Iran, for its part, accuses the US of violating the resolution over its 2018 withdrawal.

"There is no longer a JCPOA for America," Rouhani said.

He added that the US "should know, and some other countries too, that Iran will in no way accept a violation of Resolution 2231", while stressing that lifting the embargo is Iran's "inalienable right".

Rouhani said Iran would not use weapons it purchases to "add fuel to the fire" but to "extinguish flames" by not allowing conflicts to take place.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Warns of 'Rising Trend' as Virus Cases Top 100,000

Iran warned of a "rising trend" in its coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday as it said 1,680 new infections took its overall caseload beyond the 100,000 mark.

The country has struggled to contain the Middle East's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak since announcing its first cases in mid-February.

Concerns were raised last month about the threat of a "second wave" of the virus in a report by parliament that criticised the government's slow response.

"We are witnessing a rising trend in the past three or four days, which is significant," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told a televised news conference.

The rise was "based on our behaviour, especially in the past two weeks, considering that a part of society has apparently had a change of attitude," he added.

The newly reported infections brought the country's overall number of confirmed cases to 101,650.

On Saturday, Iran's official tally of daily infections hit its lowest level since March 10, but cases have picked up again since then.

The health ministry's Jahanpour said the spike in cases could be due to an increase in movement across cities and unnecessary travel.

Iran has allowed a phased return to work to revitalise its economy since April 11 and reopened mosques in parts of the country deemed to be at low risk.

Jahanpour also reported 78 new COVID-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours for the country whose virus death toll has also been creeping up since Sunday.

This brought to 6,418 the total number of fatalities officially recorded in Iran since February 19, when it announced its first two deaths in the Shiite holy city of Qom.

Out of those hospitalised, 81,587 had recovered and were discharged while 2,735 were in critical condition.

Experts and officials both in Iran and abroad have cast doubts over the country's COVID-19 figures, saying the actual number of cases could be much higher than reported.

A report published by parliament in mid-April said the real death toll could be as much as 80 percent higher than what the government announced.

It said the officially announced figures were based only on "patients that are hospitalised with severe symptoms".

It also said a "second wave" of the virus may come next winter, possibly without a break due to containment measures taking too long.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Reopens Mosques, Records Almost 80,000 Hospital Recoveries

Iran on Monday reopened mosques in parts of the country deemed at low risk from coronavirus, as it said almost 80,000 people hospitalized with the illness had recovered and been released.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 74 new fatalities brought to 6,277 the total number officially recorded in Iran since it reported its first cases in mid-February.

Iran on Sunday recorded 47 deaths, its lowest daily count in 55 days.

Another 1,223 cases of COVID-19 infections were recorded in the past 24 hours, Jahanpour said, raising the total to 98,647.

Mosques were Monday allowed to reopen to worshippers in 132, or around a third, of Iran's administrative divisions which are considered low-risk.

The country has started using a colour-coded system of "white", "yellow" and "red" for different areas to classify the virus risk.

Worshippers were obliged to enter mosques with masks and gloves and told they can only stay for half an hour during prayer times and must use their personal items, said the health ministry.

Mosques were told to refrain from offering them food and drinks, provide hand sanitisers and disinfect all surfaces, it said in a statement published by ISNA news agency.

According to Jahanpour, 79,397 of those hospitalised with the disease since Iran reported its first cases in mid-February have been discharged, while 2,676 are in critical condition.

He said Iran was among "top five countries in the world" with the highest number of recoveries, without elaborating.

Experts and officials both in Iran and abroad have cast doubts over the country's COVID-19 figures, saying the real number of cases could be much higher than reported.

President Hassan Rouhani said Iran had "succeeded in effectively preventing the spread of this virus in many" parts of the country.

Speaking at a televised videoconference meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, Rouhani said Iran's response to the outbreak "has in instances been evaluated to be beyond international standards."

But the US "anti-human rights" sanctions against the Islamic republic had hampered its efforts to control the virus, he added, noting that they prevented companies from selling Iran its medical needs.

US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran in 2018, targeting key oil and banking sectors.

Humanitarian goods, especially medicine and medical equipment, are technically exempt.

But international purchases of such supplies are forestalled by banks wary of conducting any business with Iran for fear of falling foul of the US sanctions.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Warns of Nuclear Deal 'Death' if Arms Embargo Extended

A top Iranian official on Sunday warned that a nuclear deal the US withdrew unilaterally from would "die forever" if an arms embargo on Tehran is extended.

The United States is campaigning to extend the ban on selling conventional weapons to Iran, which is set to be progressively lifted as of October.

The ban's lifting is part of a 2015 United Nations Security Council resolution that blessed the nuclear accord reached between Iran and world powers.

Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, on Sunday tweeted that the nuclear deal "will die forever" by "circumventing 2231 Resolution & continuing Iran's illegal weapons sanction.”

He also questioned what would Iran's EU partners to the deal do in such a case.

"What will #EU do: Save dignity & support multilateralism or accept humiliation & help unilateralism?" Shamkhani said.

Iran and the United States have been at loggerheads for decades.

Tensions escalated in 2018 when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions as part of a campaign of "maximum pressure".

Tehran has progressively rolled up its commitments to the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA in retaliation to the US pulling out of the accord.

The other partners to the JCPOA are Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

The accord gave the Islamic republic relief from international sanctions in return for limits on its nuclear program.

US Secretary of States Mike Pompeo said last month he would ask the UN Security Council to prolong the ban.

Washington would use a legal argument based on an interpretation of Resolution 2231 that it remains a "participant" in the nuclear deal despite renouncing it, and can extend the arms embargo on Tehran or see more stringent sanctions reimposed.

Iran, for its part, accuses the US of violating the resolution over its 2018 withdrawal.

Photo: IRNA

Iran to Reopen Many Mosques as 47 More Die of Virus

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said mosques would reopen across large parts of the country Monday, as officials reported a drop in the number of deaths from the novel coronavirus.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 47 people died of the virus over the past 24 hours, the lowest daily count in 55 days.

He told a news conference he hoped "the trend will continue in the upcoming days".

His remarks came as President Hassan Rouhani said 132 counties, around one third of the country's administrative divisions, would "reopen their mosques as of tomorrow".

"Social distancing is more important than collective prayer," he said in a televised meeting of the country's virus taskforce.

The president argued that Islam considers safety obligatory, while praying in mosques is only "recommended".

Rouhani did not give the names of the counties affected by the measure or the number of mosques due to reopen on Monday.

The measure is not expected to be implemented in the capital, Tehran, or in the main Shiite holy cities of Mashhad which are among those most affected by the outbreak.

Mosques and some key Shiite shrines in Iran were closed in March amid the Middle East's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak.

The targeted counties are "low-risk", Rouhani said.

The virus taskforce was also mulling reopening schools by May 16 to allow for a month of classes before the summer break.

According to Jahanpour, the 47 new deaths brought to 6,203 the total number officially recorded in Iran since it reported its first cases in mid-February.

He added that 976 fresh infection cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 97,424.

Over 78,420 of those hospitalised have since been discharged, while 2,690 are still in critical condition.

Experts and officials both in Iran and abroad have cast doubts over the country's COVID-19 figures, saying the real number of cases could be much higher than reported.

Qods Day Cancelled

Rouhani claimed hospital visits over potential infections were "much lower" compared to recent weeks.

He said it is due to "83 percent of people on average observing health protocols" and thanked Iranians for their "cooperation".

The Islamic republic has tried to contain the spread of the virus by shutting universities, cinemas, stadiums and other public spaces since March.

But it has allowed a phased reopening of its economy since April 11, arguing that the sanctions-hit country cannot afford to remain shut down.

Only "high-risk" businesses like gyms and barbershops remain closed.

"We will continue the reopenings calmly and gradually," Rouhani said.

Yet he warned that Iran should prepare for "bad scenarios" too, saying "this situation may continue into the summer".

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Sunday announced they were cancelling the annual day of protests against Israel known as Qods (Jerusalam) Day seemingly over the coronavirus pandemic.

Spokesman Ramezan Sharif, quoted by Fars news agency, said the move was in line with the cancellation across Iran of other ceremonies and the closing of holy places.

"Let's not worry about what the enemy might say," he added.

The day has been held every year since the 1979 Islamic Revolution to show support for the Palestinians and is usually marked on the last Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which falls on May 22 this year.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Reports Lowest Virus Infections Since March 10

Iran said Saturday there was a "clear drop" in the number of new coronavirus infections as it reported 802 fresh cases, the lowest daily count since March 10.

The new cases brought to 96,448 the number recorded in Iran since it announced its first cases in mid-February.

"This shows a clear drop in the number of new infections compared to recent weeks, despite our active testing," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said on state television.

He added that 77,350 of those hospitalised have since been discharged, claiming it is a "one of the highest recovery percentages in the world."

New deaths from COVID-19 rose slightly to 65 in the past 24 hours, reaching a total of 6,156, Jahanpour said.

Doubts have been cast over Iran's coronavirus figures by experts and officials both at home and abroad.

Iran's deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi warned that the fall in the number of infections could quickly reverse.

"I emphasize that this steady decline is fragile," said Harirchi, who has himself recovered from COVID-19.

"Carelessness in gatherings, reopening (businesses) and observing health protocols can make the country face serious problems again."

He also called on the government to increase health sector spending, which he said had been hit by fiscal pressures resulting from sweeping US sanctions and the global economic contraction sparked by the coronavirus.

Iran has tried to contain the spread of the virus by shutting schools, universities, cinemas and stadiums among other public spaces since March.

But it has allowed a phased reopening of its economy since April 11, and authorities are now mulling allowing sports, cultural and religious centers too.

Tehran authorities, who have kept public transportation running despite warnings from health experts, made it mandatory for passengers to wear masks as of Saturday.

The virus has not spared public figures, with at least 12 current or former government officials or lawmakers dead and more infected. 

One of the most senior—parliament speaker Ali Larijani—made his first public appearance in a month on Saturday, donning a protective mask to attend a televised meeting alongside the president and the head of the judiciary.

Photo: IRNA