COVID-19 Surging Death Toll Will Amplify Public Hatred Toward Iran Regime and Result in Uprising
Written by
Mansoureh Galestan
The COVID-19 death toll in Iran is rapidly surging, according to the Iranian opposition. The regime’s cover-up and inaction are accelerating the spread of the virus. The catastrophe has reached a dimension that the regime’s officials are forced to admit to It.
Yet, they desperately try to downplay it, only to avoid public outrage that could result in an explosion of social anger. The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI, Mujahedin-e Khalq or MEK) announced on July 22 that the COVID-19 death toll in Iran has surpassed 74,700.
The regime’s president Hassan Rouhani on July 18 acknowledged that nearly 25 million Iranian citizens have been infected with COVID-19 and that “30 to 35 million are in danger of being infected by this virus.”
“To this day 25 million Iranians have contracted the novel coronavirus, and we need to assume 30 to 35 million are in danger of being infected by this virus. Over 200,000 persons were hospitalized. The number of people hospitalized in the future will be around twice the number we have witnessed in the past 150 days,” he said, quoting a report published by the regime’s Health Ministry.
Yet, instead of acting against the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, the authorities insist on resuming business activities. In this regard, on July 11, Rouhani said: “We might have this disease in front us for a long period of time. Taking any action that could possibly create problems for our social and economic activities is wrong.”
In his remarks, Rouhani admitted to the regime’s real concern which is eruption of protests and a new uprising. “The simplest way is to shut down activities. The next day people will be protesting due to starvation, pressure, and problems,” he said.
Rouhani’s insisting on sending people back to work confirms that the abnormal rising trend of the COVID-19 death toll and infection rate are a direct results of the regime’s criminal policies of launching mass casualties as a barrier against the threat of a new uprising. The mullahs are in fact using the novel coronavirus to somehow quell the restive Iranian society and paralyze the real force of change, which is the Iranian people.
In this regard, the state-run Mostaghel daily in an article on July 13 wrote: “A savior was needed to divert people’s attention from the November and January [uprising] incidents. So, came the novel coronavirus. The government used people’s fear of this invisible enemy to unleash the dragon among them. Long before its public announcement, COVID-19 had come or had been brought to Iran. But to defy Trump, they held events marking the 41st anniversary of the 1979 revolution. And to slap those dissatisfied with the approbative supervision, the Parliamentary elections were held as scheduled. Then they said: we just found about the virus’ existence, so people watch yourselves.”
“While people are just trying to survive, this instrumental use of the COVID-19 to silence and control the anger of uncategorized starving people was so ruthlessly done that after six months, they not only have not achieved any success in controlling the virus, but according to the official statistics, the situation is out of control. Thousands of infections and hundreds of deaths per day confirm this. What other than this crisis could have diverted attention from people’s immersed anger and unfulfilled demands?” the article added.
While deliberately exposing people to the virus, the regime’s officials blame poor Iranians for not abiding by “hygienic regulations.” Meanwhile, they force people back to work and have destroyed country’s health foundations.
The worsening situation caused one of the regime’s Members of Parliament, Amanghelich Shadmehr from Gonbad Kavus, to say on Wednesday: “The officials have learned to blame the people for everything… The (government) officials must explain what actions they have taken and what they are doing now. How many ICUs have they provided? For how long should people die while waiting in line for an empty ICU bed? How much ventilation have they provided? People died of hypoxia. They must explain how much medicine they have prepared. Atypical drugs are available on the black market in abundance at exorbitant prices. How many shelters or tents did they provide for the poor? How many free masks did they give away? How many disinfectants did they give to the deprived people? People cannot even buy a mask. Come to your senses. It seems like they have taken an oath to kill all the people. Health insurance fees are beyond what people can bear. They are asking 800,000 tomans per person for the renewal. Think about these poor people.”
Yet, all of these actions have amplified the restiveness of the Iranian society. These criminal actions will soon result in a public outrage, and this time the regime will not be able to control the situation. Having experienced bullets and brutal oppression during the November 2019 nationwide uprising, the people will not fear the regime’s oppressive forces.
In this regard, Mostaghel in its article wrote: “This nation will not forget how it was abandoned during these bitter days. This will affect the upcoming incidents. Because soon, people will come to their table for eating, and their despair of an empty table will lead them to protest on busy streets. Then these wounded and deprived people will have nothing else left to lose. When their anger erupts, it will fight until the [regime’s] destruction, and you would see what you do not want to see.”