Q&A with Ali Safavi on the Cause of the Coronavirus Spread in Iran

Ali Safavi from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran:

The Iranian regime is attempting to hoodwink the world community into believing that international sanctions are the cause of the disastrous scope of the coronavirus in Iran. Nothing could be further from the truth. The mullahs, and only the mullahs, are to blame not only for the rapid spread of the virus to all of Iran’s 31 provinces but also to at least 17 other countries.
The fact is that the regime knew about the presence of coronavirus at least as early as January 28. These are the documents from the National Emergency Organization showing that first responders had taken nine patients, including three Iranian employees of the Chinese embassy in Tehran to Massieh Daneshvar hospital and other hospitals in the Capital from January 28th to February 5th. All had been diagnosed with coronavirus.
The regime, however, hid the news from the people of Iran and the rest of the world for at least 19 days, to ensure participation in the February 11 anniversary of the mullahs assuming power and for the sham parliamentary election on February 21.
The mullahs did nothing to quarantine the city of Qom, the epicenter of the virus, where hundreds of recruited Chinese theology students were studying.
Nor did it stop IRGC’s Mahan Air flights to and from China until late in March, and It rejected international aid, stopped the Médecins Sans Frontieres from setting up a hospital in Isfahan.
And much of the equipment and health-related material sent to Iran found their way into the black market and sold at 10 times the actual price.
So, the culprit in all of this disaster is the regime in Iran and nobody else.