Iran Reports Highest Number of Cases in Over a Month

A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, on April 2, 2020. WANA News Agency, via REUTERS
A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, on April 2, 2020. WANA News Agency, via REUTERS
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Iran Reports Highest Number of Cases in Over a Month

A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, on April 2, 2020. WANA News Agency, via REUTERS
A woman wearing a protective face mask and gloves walks past the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, on April 2, 2020. WANA News Agency, via REUTERS

Iran on Friday reported its highest number of new COVID-19 infections in more than a month as it warned of clusters hitting new regions.

Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 2,102 new cases were confirmed across the country in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall total to 116,635.

That figure is the highest Iran has announced for a single day since April 6.

The country has struggled to contain the coronavirus since its first cases emerged in mid-February.

Jahanpour said the virus had claimed another 48 lives over the same period, raising the overall death toll to 6,902.

The southwestern province of Khuzestan remained "red" -- the top level of Iran's color-coded risk scale.

Several more provinces could be added to that level of alert, he said.

"Other provinces that we may see rising infections in are Lorestan, Sistan and Baluchistan, and East Azerbaijan," Jahanpour said in televised remarks.

The spokesman issued what he called a "warning" to residents of the provinces to observe health protocols.

Lorestan lies in western Iran, East Azerbaijan in the northwest, and Sistan and Baluchistan in the southeast bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Jahanpour had said on Thursday that North Khorasan province in the northeast may also be close to "critical condition."

Khuzestan is the only province so far where authorities have reimposed stringent measures like shutting businesses after a countrywide relaxation in April.



Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Dies in an Autogiro Accident

A general view of the Iranian capital Tehran after several explosions were heard, October 26, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters file photo
A general view of the Iranian capital Tehran after several explosions were heard, October 26, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters file photo
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Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Dies in an Autogiro Accident

A general view of the Iranian capital Tehran after several explosions were heard, October 26, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters file photo
A general view of the Iranian capital Tehran after several explosions were heard, October 26, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters file photo

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander and his pilot were killed Monday in an autogiro accident during an operation near the Pakistani border, state TV reported.

The report said that Gen. Hamid Mazandarani died during a military operation in the Sirkan border area, located in Sistan and Baluchistan province.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said that the crash occurred during a drill.

An autogiro, resembling a helicopter in rotor design but simpler and smaller, is typically used in Iran for pilot training and border monitoring. It is capable of carrying two people.