Iran Reports over 100 Virus Deaths in Single Day in 2 Months

Iranians wearing protective face masks and gloves walks in Baam-e, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. (Reuters)
Iranians wearing protective face masks and gloves walks in Baam-e, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. (Reuters)
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Iran Reports over 100 Virus Deaths in Single Day in 2 Months

Iranians wearing protective face masks and gloves walks in Baam-e, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. (Reuters)
Iranians wearing protective face masks and gloves walks in Baam-e, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, in Tehran, Iran June 12, 2020. (Reuters)

Iran on Sunday reported over 100 new deaths in a single day from the novel coronavirus, for the first time in two months.

In televised remarks, health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari announced 107 COVID-19 fatalities in the past 24 hours, raising the overall toll to 8,837.

"It was very painful for us to announce the triple-digit figure," said Lari.

"This is an unpredictable and wild virus and may surprise us at any time," she added, urging Iranians to observe health protocols.

Iran last recorded triple-digit daily fatalities on April 13, with 111 dead.

Lari also announced 2,472 new cases confirmed in the past day, bringing the total infection caseload to 187,427, with over 148,000 recoveries.

There has been skepticism at home and abroad about Iran's official COVID-19 figures, with concerns the real toll could be much higher.

Iran has struggled to contain what has become the region’s deadliest outbreak of the illness since it reported its first cases in Qom city in February.

But since April it has gradually lifted restrictions to ease the intense pressures on its sanctions-hit economy.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday reproached citizens for failing to observe measures designed to rein in the virus.

Official figures have shown a rising trajectory in new confirmed cases since early May, which the government has attributed to increased testing rather than a worsening caseload.



Hundreds Protest in The Hague against NATO, Days before the Dutch City Hosts Alliance Summit

A man holds a placard during a demonstration ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
A man holds a placard during a demonstration ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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Hundreds Protest in The Hague against NATO, Days before the Dutch City Hosts Alliance Summit

A man holds a placard during a demonstration ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
A man holds a placard during a demonstration ahead of the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Hundreds of people protested Sunday against NATO and military spending and against a possible conflict with Iran, two days before a summit of the alliance in The Hague that is seeking to increase allies' defense budgets.

“Let's invest in peace and sustainable energy,” Belgian politician Jos d'Haese told the crowd at a park not far from the summit venue.

Although billed as a demonstration against NATO and the war in Gaza, protesters were joined by Iranians who held up banners saying “No Iran War,” the day after the United States launched attacks against three of Iran's nuclear sites, The AP news reported.

“We are opposed to war. People want to live a peaceful life,” said 74-year-old Hossein Hamadani, an Iranian who lives in the Netherlands. Look at the environment. “Things are not good. So why do we spend money on war?” he added.

The Netherlands is hosting the annual meeting of the 32-nation alliance starting Tuesday, with leaders scheduled to meet Wednesday.

The heads of government want to hammer out an agreement on a hike in defense spending demanded by US President Donald Trump. The deal appeared largely done last week, until Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that committing Madrid to spending 5% of its gross domestic product on defense "would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive.”

US allies have ramped up defense spending since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago, but almost a third of them still don’t meet NATO’s current target of at least 2% of their gross domestic product.

The summit is being protected by the biggest ever Dutch security operation, code named “Orange Shield," involving thousands of police and military personnel, drones, no-fly zones and cybersecurity experts.