Social and Political

Radiofarda – A newspaper close to the office of the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has suggested that financial institutions operating under his aegis should support low-income Iranians hit by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Jomhouri-ye Eslami (Islamic Republic) newspaper is funded by Khamenei’s office and its editor Masih Mohajeri who wrote the article is known …

Iran-HRM – In recent days, the number prisoners died of the novel coronavirus have increased in Iranian prisons.In the past week, two prisoners held at Gezelhesar Prison were separately taken to Khomeini Hospital after showing coronavirus symptoms. The prisoners Ma’danchi and Nadali Aliabadi, both died at the hospital.According to reports the hospital wrote heart attack as the cause of deaths …

RFL/RE – OPEC, Russia, and other oil-producing countries have finalized an agreement on an unprecedented oil-production cut in the hope of bolstering global prices that have collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic and a price war.OPEC-Plus, a group of 23 oil-producing countries that includes Russia, said late on April 12 that it had agreed to reduce output by 9.7 million …

gatestoneinstitute.org – The U.S. Embassy wrote in a Facebook post: “The possessions of the current supreme leader Ali #Khamenei alone are estimated at $200 billion, while many people languish in poverty because of the dire economic situation in #Iran after 40 years of rule by the mullahs.” If the Iranian leaders are so concerned about the public health, why they …

Al-Monitor – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei permitted on April 6 the administration of President Hassan Rouhani to withdraw 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) from Iran’s National Development Fund to address the negative economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The move comes after weeks of disbelief in the government’s circle and passivity in dealing with the economic impact of the pandemic. …

Radiofarda – An official of Tehran Municipality on Sunday told the members of the City Council that 10,000 new graves are being prepared in the capital’s largest cemetery for possible coronavirus victims. Speaking to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Sunday, Mojtaba Yazdani said isolated facilities for ceremonial washing of bodies before burial were also being installed in crisis …

Radiofarda – A group of metalworkers in Iran have written to President Hassan Rouhani saying they cannot afford items to protect themselves against the coronavirus “because thanks to you and governments before you we have become poorer everyday and our purchasing power has diminished”. The letter published by the labor news agency ILNA on April 12 says a multitude of …

Radiofarda – President Hassan Rouhani insists on ending the coronavirus-related restrictions and advocates resumption of economic activities in opposition to the Health Ministry which has kept warning the deadly virus outbreak cannot be controlled without such restrictions. Critics accuse the administration of putting the economy before people’s health. President Rouhani dismisses this allegation and insists that imposing strict lockdown regulations …

Radiofarda – The Iranian administration’s spokesperson, Ali Rabiei, says the coronavirus outbreak has adversely affected the employment situation of 7.3 million Iranians. In a commentary he wrote for the semi-official news agency ISNA on Saturday April 11, Rabiei said that the outbreak has affected 3.3 million full-time employees and 4 million self-employed workers in Iran. The estimate is less than …

Radiofarda – The coronavirus pandemic for many may pose a global health and economic crisis but for some in Iran COVID-19 is the White Death, a sign of the imminent Day of Judgement. Several religious theorists in Iran have identified the global coronavirus pandemic with White Death, one of the signs that herald the reappearance of the Imam in Occultation …