Iran Warns of 'Rising Trend' as Virus Cases Top 100,000

Firefighters disinfect a street against the new coronavirus, in western Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Firefighters disinfect a street against the new coronavirus, in western Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iran Warns of 'Rising Trend' as Virus Cases Top 100,000

Firefighters disinfect a street against the new coronavirus, in western Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Firefighters disinfect a street against the new coronavirus, in western Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2020. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran warned on Wednesday of a "rising trend" this week in the COVID-19 outbreak as it said 1,680 new infections took its overall caseload beyond the 100,000 mark.

Iran has struggled to contain the Middle East's deadliest coronavirus outbreak since announcing its first cases in mid-February.

Concerns were raised last month about the threat of a "second wave" of the virus in a report by parliament that criticized the government's slow response.

"We are witnessing a rising trend in the past three or four days, which is significant," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told a televised news conference.

The rise was "based on our behavior, especially in the past two weeks, considering that a part of society has apparently had a change of attitude," he added.

The newly reported infections brought the country's overall number of confirmed cases to 101,650.

On Saturday, Iran's official tally of daily infections hit its lowest level since March 10, but cases have picked up again since then.

Jahanpour said the spike in cases could be due to an increase in movement across cities and unnecessary travel.

Iran has allowed a phased return to work to revitalize its economy since April 11 and reopened mosques in parts of the country deemed to be at low risk.

Jahanpour also said the death toll rose by 78 in the past 24 hours to 6,418.

Out of those hospitalized, 81,587 had recovered and were discharged while 2,735 were in critical condition.

A report published by parliament in mid-April said the real death toll could be as much as 80 percent higher than what the government announced.

It said the officially announced figures were based only on "patients that are hospitalized with severe symptoms".

It also said a "second wave" of the virus may come next winter, possibly without a break due to containment measures taking too long.



ICC Warrants are Binding, EU Cannot Pick and Choose, Borrell Says

23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)
23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)
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ICC Warrants are Binding, EU Cannot Pick and Choose, Borrell Says

23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)
23 May 2023, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement in the Knesset. (dpa)

European Union governments cannot pick and choose whether to execute arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against two Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander, the EU's foreign policy chief said on Saturday.

The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged crimes against humanity.

All EU member states are signatories to the ICC's founding treaty, called the Rome Statute.

Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so.

"The states that signed the Rome convention are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It's not optional," Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said during a visit to Cyprus for a workshop of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.

Those same obligations were also binding on countries aspiring to join the EU, he said.

"It would be very funny that the newcomers have an obligation that current members don't fulfil," he told Reuters.

The United States rejected the ICC's decision and Israel said the ICC move was antisemitic.

"Every time someone disagrees with the policy of one Israeli government - (they are) being accused of antisemitism," said Borrell, whose term as EU foreign policy chief ends this month.

"I have the right to criticize the decisions of the Israeli government, be it Mr Netanyahu or someone else, without being accused of antisemitism. This is not acceptable. That's enough."

Israel's 13-month campaign in Gaza has killed about 44,000 Palestinians and displaced nearly all the enclave's population while creating a humanitarian crisis, Gaza officials say.

In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza".

The warrant for Masri lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Israel says it has killed Masri.