Iran is heavily invested in a battle against COVID-19. This is clear from Iranian media and what is known about the threat of the virus to Iran.
Since February 2020, Iran has suffered grievously from COVID-19, but it has not always been forthright about the extent of the tragedies it has faced. In recent days, Iranian media have focused on the pandemic, both at home and abroad.
In some ways, Iran’s focus on the pandemic mirrors the international media. However, Iran is also very interested in what is happening in other countries, especially those that have been successful. This puts Iran’s regime in a bad light for its failures.
“The worldwide prevalence of the Delta variant has raised concerns about the effectiveness of vaccines,” Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported. “However, vaccination, along with adherence to health protocols, remains an effective way to break the transmission chain.”
“While the dire situation of coronavirus in Iran is tied to the ban on the import of vaccines from Britain and the United States, a look at the charts of coronavirus statistics in countries around the world reveals other facts,” the report said.
This is interesting because Iran has blamed sanctions in the past for its lack of vaccination. But Tehran also has banned UK and US vaccines since this January, meaning Tasnim is basically blaming Iran’s own policies.
Tehran knows countries such as the US have vaccinated large numbers of people. Meanwhile, Iran is struggling with a continued outbreak of COVID-19.
“A look at the percentage of compliance with health protocols in Iran also shows a sharp decline in compliance; adherence to health protocols has reached its lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic,” the report said.
“Unfortunately, in the last week of August, the rate of observance of health protocols in the country is as low as in the last two months and has reached 39.02% with a slight increase compared to the previous week,” the Iranian Health Ministry’s spokesman was quoted as saying.
Ceremonies and family outings, as well as tourism and “the unsatisfactory state of public transportation,” are to blame, according to the report. In short, Iran is blaming itself.
This very revealing article in an Iranian media outlet closely tied to the regime shows that all is not well at the highest levels. Iran’s regime needs a scapegoat. It can’t be the supreme leader and the regime, which has banned effective US and UK vaccines. So who is to blame? The Health Ministry and the Foreign Ministry.
Another Tasnim article said: “The record [number] of coronavirus patients, hospitalizations and deaths is being broken day by day, and every few seconds and minutes, an Iranian becomes infected with coronavirus or the victim of this virus. The unfortunate statistics hurt the heart of every Iranian and turn the public mind to [ask] who are the main culprits of the country’s black coronavirus situation.
“It is clear that the performance of health officials and caregivers should be weighed against public criticism and ask why those who delayed public vaccination... in September last year argued against Chinese and Russian vaccines.”
The point the media makes is that “counterrevolutionaries” spread rumors against Chinese and Russian vaccines. China and Russia and Iran work closely together. The article concludes that the Health Ministry put out false slogans and is to blame for the problems.
Unsurprisingly, the IRGC has now stepped up to say it will lead the battle against COVID-19. The IRGC has close links to the new president and other key officials. The idea appears to be to hand more of the health sector over to the IRGC.
IRGC commander Hossein Salami said: “The enemies’ goal was to [get us to] reach out to the enemy. But we distrust them, and we cannot entrust the health of society to them, and this is in a situation where they are using biological weapons against our people, and in this situation, we act on the principle of independence.”
“We assure all people that we are on the scene with all our might regarding our duties, and faith in the people is the principle of our service,” he said. “We will stay until the end and give all our strength to the people without mercy.”
It’s not clear what will happen next, but Iran’s decision to focus on the COVID-19 crisis could lead to some internal political battles to find scapegoats. That could keep the regime distracted, along with the crisis in neighboring Afghanistan.
The wider picture could be good for peace in the region if Iran stops meddling in foreign countries and threatening Israel, Saudi Arabia and the US.