21 Nobel laureates blast Iran for allowing spread of coranavirus, cover-up

“There are various reports that indicate that the clerical dictatorship ruling Iran has engaged in a cover-up, preventing the free flow of crucial information," the letter noted.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
Iranian couple wearing protective masks to prevent contracting a coronavirus walk at Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran (photo credit: WANA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS)
Iranian couple wearing protective masks to prevent contracting a coronavirus walk at Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran
(photo credit: WANA NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS)
A group of Nobel laureates announced in a letter sent to the United Nations that the rulers of Iran have failed to take measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus and engaged in a cover-up of the deadly disease.
"As a result of the regime's inaction, there has been a serious lack of preventive measures to control and ward off the spread of the novel coronavirus in Iran. For example, according to experts, the initial epicenter of the virus outbreak, the central city of Qom, was not quarantined, due to the regime's parochial political considerations," the 21 Nobel laureates wrote in a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent this past week.
"We are asking for your urgent intervention in the situation that is unfolding in Iran, as a means of preventing the further expansion of this catastrophe. We request that, with the help of the international community, all of the medical resources and treatment be taken out of the IRGC's [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] control and instead be allocated to treatment and prevention efforts that can halt further spread of the coronavirus.”
The United States classifies the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.
“There are various reports that indicate that the clerical dictatorship ruling Iran has engaged in a cover-up, preventing the free flow of crucial information about the spread of coronavirus in that country.
"It covered up the truth in support of its political motives and agenda, including its intention to draw as many people out as possible so they attend its sham parliamentary elections and the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, which included street marches," the letter noted.
The Nobel laureates who signed the letter are from the US, Canada, Germany and Norway. The signatories include: Michael  Rosbash, Nobel Prize, Medicine 2017, USA ; Joachim Frank, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2017, USA; Oliver Hart, Nobel Prize, Economics 2016, USA; Paul  Modrich, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2015, USA ; Randy  Schekman, Nobel Prize, Medicine 2013, USA ; Arieh  Warshel, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2013, USA; David  Wineland, Nobel Prize, Physics 2012, USA; and Gerhard  Ertl, Nobel Prize, Chemistry 2007, Germany.