Ayatollah Khamenei Scorns US Offer to Help Iran in Coronavirus Battle
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei rejected the offer of help for Iran from the “untrustworthy” US government in the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, saying such disease may have been created by the US as part of its hostile plots against Iranians.
In a televised speech aired live by state television on Sunday, Ayatollah Khamenei rejected the offer of medical and pharmaceutical help from Americans for Iran in the battle with COVID-19.
The Leader said the US has made such offer of help while Washington itself is struggling with a shortage of medical supplies in containing the coronavirus epidemic, pointing to the admissions made by the mayors and medical authorities of various American cities that they are facing many problems.
Moreover, Ayatollah Khamenei added, the US is accused of having created the coronavirus, and there are clues to this accusation.
No wise person would request help from the US when such untrustworthy government is accused of being behind the creation of COVID-19, the Leader noted, saying there are reports that a strain of the virus has been created to target the Iranian genome and people as part of the hostility that the US and the West show towards the Iranian nation.
Even if the US is ready to give Iran medical assistance, it might be still another American plot to infiltrate into the country through medical teams and to bring a series of medicines into Iran that could result in a wider spread of the virus or make the contagious disease sustain in the country, Ayatollah Khamenei warned.
The Leader also noted that the US medical teams might be also seeking to gather information about the damages caused by the coronavirus and complete their data on the destructive power of the disease among Iranians.
Ayatollah Khamenei finally called on all Iranian people and authorities to exercise patience and prudence in the face of enemies, continue resistance, and ignore the discouraging news and analyses from the figures who advise people to abandon resistance.
More than 300,000 people have contracted the novel coronavirus in the world and at least 12,944 have died.
Meanwhile, Iran has intensified diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to force the US to lift the sanctions that have impeded Tehran’s fight against COVID-19.
Iran’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that more than 7,600 coronavirus patients have recovered from the disease in the country, while the death toll has hit 1,556.
