President Hassan Rouhani in a meeting of the national headquarters of the fight against the coronavirus, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 18. President Hassan Rouhani cited a new Iranian Health Ministry study in offering the unprecedentedly high number of infections. Rouhani also said he believes an additional 30-35 million people could be infected in coming months, again without citing the basis for his estimate. Iran has seen the worst outbreak in the Middle East, with more than 270,000 confirmed cases and at least 13,979 deaths. Before Iran reported its first cases of the virus in February, authorities denied it had reached the country for days, allowing the virus time to spread.

Source: The Standard July 18, 2020 13:52 UTC