MP Qassem Ahmadi Lashaki pleads for action from Iran President’s office over Coronavirus, March 8, 2020

The assurances of Iran’s regime that it is belatedly dealing with Coronavirus, have been shaken, with video of an MP pleading with President Hassan Rouhani’s Chief of Staff, “We are losing….People are dying.”

Qassem Ahmadi Lashaki, who represents cities in Mazandaran Province in northern Iran, told Mahmoud Vaezi that the situation is out of control.

“We are losing Mazandaran. People are dying. Please relay our message to the President,” Ahmadi Lashaki appealed.

Ahmadi Lashki said he would join residents of the province threatened to close roads to travel, if the Interior Ministry did not act to enforce Government restrictions.

Vaezi told the MP to contact Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli.

The Health Ministry said on Sunday that the official toll has risen to 194 deaths and 6,566 cases.

But suspicion continues that the Ministry is under-reporting the outbreak. The Ministry’s representative said on Sunday that more than 200 people have died in Gilan Province in northern Iran alone.

Having downplayed the virus throughout February, the regime is now struggling to enforce its measures.

With the Supreme Leader declaring that Coronavirus is a “Western plot”, President Hassan Rouhani echoed the message of “conspiracy” and rejected quarantines.

But last week, as the spread of the virus had to be acknowledged, the regime cancelled events such as Friday Prayers and introduced checkpoints to monitor and limit travel between major cities. The military declared its central role in patrolling and disinfecting streets.

See also Iran Daily, March 8: Official — 700,000 Will Contract Coronavirus “If We Don’t Move Quickly”

Countering Criticism

Seeking to counter criticism, Iranian State outlets highlight remarks by a World Health Official praising the belated steps to contain Coronavirus in the holy city of Qom, where the outbreak began in early February.

Richard Brennan, the WHO’s Director of Emergency Operations, told reporters on Sunday, “Very impressed by the dedication and hard work of the doctors and nurses and health workers here in Qom. The people of Qom should be very proud of their health workers.”

On February 23, with the official toll at eight deaths and 43 cases, the Supreme Leader denied that there was a serious situation in Qom. He proclaimed that fear of the virus had been whipped up by the West to depress turnout in Iran’s Parliamentary elections two days earlier.

In another attempt to recover Iran’s international position, the Secretary of the National Security Council used a visit to Iraq to proclaim that Tehran will share its experiences on how to handle Coronavirus.

Ali Shamkhani told Iraqi Health Minister Jaffar Allawi that the Islamic Republic would “combat the pandemic” in the neighboring country.

As of Friday, Iraq’s official toll was four deaths and 47 cases.