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Latest News in Brief – February 23, 2020

February 23: Latest News on Iran
February 23: Latest News on Iran

THE CONTENT OF THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS OF THE IRAN PROTESTS.

Surge in Iran Coronavirus Another aspect of the regime’s incompetence?

The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern over the speed at which COVID-19 has spread in Iran, as well as it being exported from the country to other territories in the region.


Based on sources of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e-Khalq or MEK), while the regime authorities are refusing to announce the actual number of those affected and deceased, the residents of Qom put the number of deaths at 12 and those infected at more than 200.

Coronavirus - Iran 23-2-2020

In the meantime, another death due to the Coronavirus is reported from Arak. After many days past the outbreak, the Iranian regime has just now closed the schools in Qom, Markazi, Gilan, Ardabil, Kermanshah, Qazvin, Zanjan, Mazandaran, Golestan, Hamedan, Alborz, Semnan, Kurdistan and the capital, Tehran. They have also temporarily closed the bistros and public cinemas and have suspended football matches in Tehran.

However, reports from Iran show the Iranian people’s outrage over the way the regime has been handling the Coronavirus outbreak in the country, first hiding the news from the people until after the election masquerade, and then the delay in taking any preventive actions. People also complain over the lack of essential preemptive measures like distribution of masks or any infection jells freely to the public, which is now either not available in many pharmacies or too expensive to purchase for many low-income populations. 

The flights to China were reportedly just recently stopped, whereas all other countries had closed their borders with China and stopped any travel to and from China. In Iran, the IRGC’s airline, Mahan Air, had until recently continued its flights to and from China. 

Iran’s Coronavirus Outbreak Affects Neighboring Countries

Coronavirus from Iran to other countries

The lack of preemptive measures and hiding the news from the public has caused the virus to be transmitted by travelers from Iran to neighboring countries.

The United Arab Emirates announced two new coronavirus cases on Saturday, an Iranian tourist and his wife, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported. 

Lebanon has also confirmed its first coronavirus case on Friday, being a 45-year-old woman who had returned from Qom and is now in quarantine.

On Thursday, the Iraqi government announced that it had banned border crossings by Iranian nationals, and Iraq’s Airways suspended flights to Iran. Kuwait Airways has also suspended all flights to Iran starting on Thursday, February 20, 2020. Saudi Arabia had also suspended travel by citizens and expatriates to Iran as a result of the outbreak.

Maryam Rajavi: Hiding spread of COVID-19 in fear of sparse turnout in revolution anniversary and sham election leads to spread of the virus

Maryam Rajavi President-elect of the NCRI wrote on twitter:

Ignoring people’s lives and well-being, the criminal mullahs covered up  Coronavirus cases in a bid to bring crowds for Feb. 11 revolution anniversary & the sham election. Now, the virus has rapidly spread across the nation because people were kept in the dark.

I again urge WHO to dispatch supervisory and medical teams to Iran and request physicians and nurses to advise and assist the people to confront the virus. The regime must put medical resources monopolized by the mullahs and the IRGC at the disposal of the people, hospitals, and physicians

Coronavirus outbreak in Iran and regime officials remaining dangerously silent

February 22 – Iran, Lahijan, Talesh:

Locals in the cities of Lahijan, Talesh, Rudbar and Isfahan are protesting regime officials’ denials and secretive measures regarding the coronavirus outbreak across the country.

Maryam Rajavi: FATF Blacklisting of Iran Regime Extremely Necessary, Long Overdue

FOX News Europe getting tougher on Tehran

Iran stays on terrorism financing blacklist

The decision by FATF to again blacklist the terrorist, religious dictatorship ruling Iran is an extremely necessary, albeit long overdue, step in combatting terrorism and money laundering worldwide…terrorism and warmongering are indispensable to this regime and critical to its survival. It will never abandon financing terrorism and money laundering …The international community must cease offering any assistance to, and refrain from engaging in, any financial transactions with the mullahs’ regime and should stand by the Iranian people and their aspirations for regime change.

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6135017645001/

Iran Protests:

Statements of Maryam Rajavi:

Maryam Rajavi: After long delay, astronomical rigging, regime admits defeat

Reports from Tehran, Ahvaz polling stations show turnout one-third of 2016

After two days of confusion and fabrication of bogus figures, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the regime’s Minister of Interior, announced that 42.5 percent had voted in the sham parliamentary election. Even this completely bogus figure shows a 30 percent drop relative to the 2016 election. This is while the nationwide boycott of this charade had already been reported worldwide. To justify the sparse turnout, Rahmani Fazli said, “Given the political situation and such issues as the crash of the (Ukrainian) airliner, the incidents in November (2019) and January (2020), and other these circumstances, this level of presence and participation by the people is totally acceptable.”

University Students Protest Regime Inaction on CoronaVirus Outbreak

February 22 – Ilam, western Iran:

Students of Ilam University demand classes to be suspended. Regime officials have closed schools and universities in many provinces until the end of the week.

February 22 – Tehran, Iran:

Students of Beheshti University are protesting and demanding the campus to be closed so they can return home. They’re all concerned about the spread of the coronavirus.

A nationwide boycott of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) elections farce and the FATF blacklisting delivered a double blow to the regime ruling Iran.

“The Iranian regime did its utmost to bring as many people to its election polls. The result was an unprecedented nationwide election boycott.”

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WHAT ARE THE IRAN PROTESTS OF 2019?

Sunday, February 23, 2020, marks the 101st day since the beginning of the nationwide Iran protests.

The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) has identified 724 of the more than 1500 protesters killed by the regime so far.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has called on the United Nations to urgently send an international fact-finding mission to Iranian prisons to meet with the detainees.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE UPRISING:

Number of uprising cities: 191

Number of martyrs: At least 1500

Number of injured: More than 4,000

Number of detainees: More than 12,000

Read more: Latest News in Brief- February 22, 2020