Iran refuses US help to fight COVID-19, cites conspiracy theory
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday refused assistance from the United States to fight the COVID-19 outbreak as he cited an unfounded conspiracy theory that the coronavirus could be “man-made” by America. However, his claim is not backed by any scientific proof.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday (March 22) refused assistance from the United States to fight the COVID-19 outbreak as he cited an unfounded conspiracy theory that the coronavirus could be “man-made” by America.
His comments came as Iran faces crushing US sanctions, blocking the country from selling its crude oil and accessing international financial markets. Iranian civilian officials in recent days have increasingly criticised those sanctions.
However, 80-year-old Khamenei instead chose to traffic in the same conspiracy theory used by Chinese officials about the coronavirus to deflect blame for the pandemic.
“Possibly your (offered) medicine is a way to spread the virus more,” Khamenei said. “Or if you send therapists and doctors, maybe he wants to see the effect of the poison, since it is said that part of the virus is built for Iran.”
However, his claim is not backed by any scientific proof. It comes after Chinese government spokesperson Lijian Zhao said earlier this month it “might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan. Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe(s) us an explanation!”
Lijian too offered no evidence to support his claim, which saw the US State Department summoned China’s ambassador to register a complaint.
Wuhan is the Chinese city where the first cases of the disease were detected in December. In recent days, the Trump administration has increasingly referred to the virus as the “Chinese” or “Wuhan” virus, while World Health Organization used the term COVID-19 to describe the illness the virus causes.
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Even a US senator from Arkansas has trafficked in the unfounded conspiracy theory that it was a “man-made” Chinese bioweapon.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover from the new virus.
Scientists have not yet determined exactly how the new coronavirus first infected people. Evidence suggests it originated in bats, which infected another animal that spread it to people at a market in Wuhan.
The now-shuttered Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market advertised dozens of species such as giant salamanders, baby crocodiles and raccoon dogs that were often referred to as wildlife, even when they were farmed.
An article published last week in scientific journal ‘Nature Medicine’ said there is “strong evidence” the virus “is not the product of purposeful manipulation.” “It is improbable that (the virus) emerged through laboratory manipulation of a related SARS-CoV-like coronavirus,” the article’s authors found.
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Khamenei made the comments in a speech in Tehran broadcast live on Sunday across Iran marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year. He had called off his usual speech at Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad over the virus outbreak.
His comments come as Iran has over 20,600 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus amid 1,556 reported deaths. Iran is one of the hardest-hit countries in the world by the new virus. Across the Mideast, Iran represents eight of 10 cases of the virus and those leaving the Islamic Republic have carried the virus to other countries.
Reassigning blame could be helpful to Iran’s government, which faced widespread public anger after denying for days it shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing 176 people. Widespread economic problems as well has seen mass demonstrations in recent years that saw hundreds reportedly killed.
Iranian hard-liners have supported conspiracy theories in the past when it suited their interests. Following the September 11 attacks, some publicly doubted al-Qaida’s role and the state TV promoting the unfounded conspiracy theory that the Americans blew up the building themselves.
Former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad similarly raised doubt about the 9/11 attacks, calling it a “big lie,” while also describing the Holocaust as a “myth.”
(With inputs from agencies)
