Around 36 prisoners in Iran are feared to have been killed by security forces after the use of lethal force to control protests over COVID-19 safety fears, Amnesty International has learned.
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.
