{"id":224350,"date":"2020-08-22T13:44:01","date_gmt":"2020-08-22T12:44:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=224350"},"modified":"2023-01-25T10:57:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T09:57:48","slug":"how-mullahs-use-covid-19-to-prevent-major-iran-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/how-mullahs-use-covid-19-to-prevent-major-iran-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"How Mullahs Use COVID-19 To Prevent Major Iran Protests"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Coronavirus-in-Iran01\"
Coronavirus outbreak in Iran<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Holding university exams, planning to hold mourning ceremonies in Muharram, forcing people back to work amid the COVID-19 outbreak<\/a>, and systematic cover-up of this crisis, are the Iranian regime’s plan to use <\/span>the Coronavirus pandemic<\/span> for thwarting an uprising, thus preventing its downfall.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The regime held the college entrance exams, without implementing the most basic preventive measure<\/span>s<\/span> and health protocols. In this regard, <\/span>Minoo<\/span> Mohraz<\/span>, member of the regime’s National Coronavirus Combat Task Force, on August 19 told the state-run <\/span>Hamshari<\/span> daily: “We <\/span>suggested that we<\/span> postpone the entrance exam<\/span>s<\/span> until the weather would be better, and it could be held outdoors. But the Health Ministry was forced to write a protocol. Who wants to implement it? The entrance exam is a gathering, and I, as an expert, say it should not be held indoors.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The regime held these exams while the <\/span>COVID-19 <\/span>death toll is rapidly rising, even according to the regime’s statistics, which stands at over 20,000 death<\/span>s<\/span>. <\/span>Mean<\/span>while<\/span>,<\/span> the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK<\/a>) <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> on Friday that the coronavirus death toll in 394 cities across Iran has surpassed 92,300.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But why <\/span>is <\/span>the regime deliberately sending people to the coronavirus minefield?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The major Iran protests in November 2019 rattled the regime’s foundation. According to Reuters, the regime’s Supreme Leader ordered <\/span>the <\/span>Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) “to do whatever it takes” to prevent this uprising from overthrowing his regime. This order led to over 1500 people being slaughtered on <\/span>the <\/span>street<\/span>s<\/span>, according to the <\/span>MEK<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

P<\/span>rotests in January erupted following the regime reluctantly confess<\/span>ing<\/span> to shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet, target<\/span>ing<\/span> the regime’s top officials, <\/span>with<\/span> chant<\/span>s of<\/span> “death to the dictator.” These protests, as well as the general boycott of the regime’s sham parliamentary elections, made people’s desire for regime change clear for the mullahs’ regime and left the clerical regime in the constant nightmare of downfall.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Weekly-Signe-up-logo-300x100\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

So, the COVID-19 was the regime’s savior. Khamenei called it a “blessing and test.” It is important to understand how the regime used this deadly virus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The m<\/span>ullahs held their sham parliamentary elections despite <\/span>knowing it would be<\/span> boycott<\/span>ed<\/span>. This was partly to defy the international community and legitimize their rule. <\/span>But<\/span> mostly the Iranian regime intended to use the novel coronavirus as a lever of oppression to quell the restive Iranian society. The regime’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak confirmed this reality that<\/span> the<\/span> mullahs intend to use mass casualties as a barrier to <\/span>a <\/span>new series of possible major protests.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Systematic cover-up and downplaying<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the coronavirus outbreak, <\/span>the <\/span>mullahs’ president, Hassan Rouhani, and other officials tried to downplay this crisis and cover<\/span> up the true extent of this virus. While <\/span>the <\/span>mullahs said<\/span> the<\/span> virus <\/span>was <\/span>transmitted from China to Iran in February, documents published by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)<\/a>, obtained by <\/span>the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK)<\/a> from the regime’s National Emergency Organization, confirmed the virus had arrived in Iran in early January.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, the regime continued its cover-up and ordered a quarantine when the virus had spread across Iran. This quarantine was also rapidly canceled since the regime feared starving people, who were at home without any governmental help<\/span>, would <\/span>rise <\/span>up <\/span>against the regime. So, they quickly forced people back to work.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These actions increased the death toll and the infection rate. The situation even forced some of the regime’s officials to acknowledge the regime’s strategy of killing people.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mohammad Reza <\/span>Mahboubfar<\/span><\/a>, a member of the National Covid-19 Task Force, on August 10 told the state-run Jahan-e <\/span>Sanat<\/span> daily: “We witnessed the first patients suffering from Covid-19 exactly a month before the official announcement of this virus entering the country, meaning around mid-January. However, at the time the government concealed this due to political and security reservations.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mahboubfar<\/span> further described these security and political reservations. “The government to avoid the protests of 2018 and 2019 being repeated chose the herd immunity policy by vast reopening. Thus, leaving people alone facing coronavirus.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not <\/span>satisfied<\/span><\/a> to merely deny public statements that contradict the official narrative, the regime responded to <\/span>Mahboubfar’s<\/span> interview by closing Jahan-e <\/span>Sanat<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, the state-run Setareh <\/span>Sobh<\/span> (Morning Star) daily, in its editorial <\/span>published<\/span><\/a> on August 4, while acknowledging to the regime’s cover-up, had warned about holding the college entrance exams and the mourning ceremonies in the holy month of Muharram.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Due to the flawed structure of health decision-making and government mismanagement, Iran is and will continue to be plagued by the disease. When the [regime’s] president [Hassan Rouhani] says that Muharram mourning ceremonies could be held gloriously, regardless of the opinion of health experts and specialists, it means there is a serious disagreement between the government and the National Coronavirus Combating Task Force. Despite the fact, most people want to cancel the national entrance exams or to hold mourning ceremonies virtually,” <\/span>read<\/span><\/a> the article.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But will the regime be successful in using a high mortality rate to counter possible uprising?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The answer is no. The restive society that showed its desire for regime change by boycotting <\/span>the <\/span>mullahs’ sham parliamentary elections, after sacrificing 1500 martyrs, will never forget how it was treated during these days.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this regard, the state-run <\/span>Mostaghel<\/span> daily on July 13 <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a>: “This nation will not forget how it was abandoned during these bitter days. This will affect the upcoming incidents. The Government did not contain and control the coronavirus to relevantly control the anger of defiant people. But I wish that the suffering and illness of the people were not used as a cure for obliviousness and a means of revenge for the events of November and December. Because soon, people will come to their table for eating, and their despair of an empty table will lead them to protest on busy streets.”\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holding university exams, planning to hold mourning ceremonies in Muharram, forcing people back to work amid the COVID-19 outbreak, and systematic cover-up of this crisis, are the Iranian regime’s plan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":224352,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,15],"tags":[129,130,141,184,186],"class_list":{"0":"post-224350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-human-rights","9":"tag-iran","10":"tag-iran-protests","11":"tag-human-rights","12":"tag-coronavirus-outbreak-in-iran","13":"tag-coronavirus"},"yoast_head":"\nHow Mullahs Use COVID-19 To Prevent Major Iran Protests - NCRI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Holding university exams, planning to hold mourning ceremonies in Muharram, forcing people back to work amid the COVID-19 outbreak, and systematic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/human-rights\/how-mullahs-use-covid-19-to-prevent-major-iran-protests\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Mullahs Use COVID-19 To Prevent Major Iran Protests - 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