Chief of Iranian Revolutionary Guard makes unevidenced claims that coronavirus outbreak may be due to US ‘biological invasion’

When addressing a crowd in Kerman on Thursday, Hossein Salami said that the outbreak in Iran, “may be the product of the American biological invasion.”

Salami did not provide any evidence to support his claims about the virus, which scientists believe was transferred from animals to humans last year in China.

“We will win in the fight against the virus, which may be the product of the American biological invasion, which first spread to China and then to Iran and the rest of the world,” he said.

“Today the country is engaged in a biological battle,” said Salami, according to a ISNA news agency. “Even today, we will win, even in the fight against the virus. The U.S. must know that if it did it, [the virus] will return to it.”

Theories like these are common among the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and has become more usual since the death of Quassem Soleimani, which was a result of U.S. drone strike in January.

On Tuesday, it was also suggested by Gholam Reza Jalali, an Iranian civil defence chief, that the outbreak of the virus is a “biological attack” against the Iran and China.

There are still scientific investigations under way on the virus, though there is no evidence to show that it was deliberately manufactured. The origin of the virus, which emerged from near a seafood market the city of Wuhan, in China, is still unknown.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, “Early on, many of the patients at the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan had some link to a large seafood and live animal market, suggesting animal-to-person spread.”

“Later, a growing number of patients reportedly did not have exposure to animal markets, indicating person-to-person spread.”

There were 15 deaths announced in Iran Today, bringing the total number to 107. Iran has the highest reported death toll outside of China. There were 591 cases of coronavirus reported by the Islamic republic, which brings the total number to 3,513.

Many suspect that the figures provided by the regime are lower than the actual numbers.

Brian Hook, U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, told European reporters that “Iran lied to its own people about the coronavirus.”

“It told them it was not anything to worry about but at the same time the virus was spreading throughout Iran.”

There is also a shortage of medical equipment, face masks, and ventilators in Iran, and Friday prayers have been canceled in the country’s major cities for a few weeks running.

Health minister Saeed Namaki noted that “Schools and universities will be closed until the end” of the school year.

“People should not consider this as an opportunity to go traveling,” said Namaki. “They should stay home and take our warnings seriously.”

“This virus is highly contagious. It is a serious matter, do not joke about it.”

According to Namaki, the country has started implementing a national plan to fight the virus and will start in the locations most affected by it. “Our method is not going into homes,” Namaki said. “We can use digital communications and ultimately the telephone. So we don’t see a reason to go to the doors of peoples’ homes.”

World Health Organization members recently landed in Tehran to assess the situation.