Iran: Coronavirus Death Toll in 427 Cities Exceeds 100,500

Widespread opposition to reopening schools, confusion, and reluctant retreat by clerical regime leaders

The Health Commission of the regime’s Parliament: The many contradictions in the officials’ comments about the reopening of schools have confused families. Parents say that every minute officials make a different decision, and it is not clear what they are thinking? (Hamshahri, September 8, 2020)

• Ali Rabiei, Rouhani’s spokesperson: Rouhani explicitly said that going to school was not compulsory. Attendance is not mandatory, but schools are open. (ISNA, September 8, 2020)
• Education Minister: None of the public or private schools have the right to force students to attend schools. (ILNA September 7, 2020)
• Minoo Mohraz, member of the National Coronavirus Combat Taskforce (NCCT): We are only watching the results of wrong decisions! The medical staff are worn out and are no longer able to work. (Alef website, September 8, 2020)
• Head of Infectious Diseases Department of Masih Daneshvari Hospital: If the Coronavirus becomes widespread and a large number of children need to be hospitalized, we do not have beds for them. (ILNA, September 8, 2020)
• Vatan-e Emruz daily, today: Given the fear of Coronavirus, less than 10% of students went to schools in the past 2-3 days.
• Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences: The infection trend of Coronavirus has been increasing again since August 24. The number of patients referred to medical centers has risen from 700 to 1,062, from August 28 to September 5. (Tasnim, September 7, 2020)

The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/ MEK) announced on Tuesday, September 8, 2020, that the Coronavirus death toll in 427 cities across Iran had passed 100,500. The number of victims in Khorasan Razavi is 7,214, Khuzestan 6,642, Isfahan 4,589, Lorestan 4,447, Gilan 4,137, East Azerbaijan 2,917, Alborz 2,851, Golestan 2,848, Fars 2,831, West Azerbaijan 2,694, North Khorasan 1,619, Kerman 1,610, Hormozgan 1,356, Central Province 1,303, Yazd 1,263, Bushehr 1,261, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari 712, and South Khorasan 582.

As the opposition to the reopening of schools grows among the public, experts, and even the regime’s agents, the leaders of the clerical regime have become confused and are forced to retreat step by step. According to ISNA, Ali Rabiei, the spokesman for Rouhani’s government, while admitting that the “dissemination of information by the government” was flawed, stressed, “Of course, the educational facilities of Shad Network can also be used, but we emphasize again that attending school is not mandatory, but schools are open … It is necessary to maintain students’ communication with schools, now either physically or virtually.”

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)
September 8, 2020