On March 22, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to ravage Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suggested that the United States bore responsibility for his nation’s plight. In a speech rejecting US offers of medical aid, Khamenei declared—echoing a claim first promulgated by Chinese officials—that America may have created the virus in a deliberate effort to target Iranians.
In response to Iran’s coronavirus outbreak in late February, one of the government’s first actions was to close schools and universities on March 5, leaving the education of millions of students in limbo. The prolonged shutdown has led to major challenges for students, parents and teachers.
Iran has been struck by one of the most severe coronavirus outbreaks in the world, but the voices of Iranians affected by the pandemic have remained largely unheard outside the country’s borders. The scale of their suffering has been obscured by often upbeat stories about survivors in Iran’s official media and by an inscrutable government many suspect is underplaying the toll.
Iranian officials have taken to firing aggressive and sometimes disparaging remarks deriding the Western—especially American—response to the coronavirus outbreak in an apparent attempt to counter criticism of their own shortcomings.
Iranians marked the 40th anniversary of the Iranian revolution in 2019. Many an academic conference around the world marked the occasion (including a workshop jointly held by my own New York University and Columbia University), but grand narratives or conclusive accounts of the revolution have been conspicuous in their absence. This is partly explained by the fact that the revolution is a living event, copiously adding to its own history day by day and not yet achieving the distance of a “done” event that makes it a more comfortable topic for historians.
Iran’s Health Ministry says 17,935 patients have so far recovered from the COVID-19 and been discharged from the hospital.
Broad US-imposed economic sanctions are negatively affecting the Iranian government’s ability to adequately respond to the mounting health consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Iran is facing a multi-faceted challenges that ignoring them would be considered wishful thinking.
Nowruz, or New Day, is the first day of the spring, and the first day of the Iranian New Year. It’s the time for turning over a new leaf and welcoming the season of bliss and blossoms into one’s spirit. But on the first day of this year’s spring, Iran is not in the news for any celebration. This year, the country’s name is synonymous with sadness as thousands contract COVID-19 and hundreds fall victim to it.
I came to Iran in April of last year. By now, my husband and I thought we’d be back home in the United States. But with Covid-19 ravaging the country and the rest of the world, our tickets have been canceled.
