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Iran's Daily COVID-19 Deaths Hit Record of 459

Iranians walk next to a sign advising people to wear masks on their way to shop in Tajrish square in the capital Tehran on Nov. 1, 2020. (AFP)
Iranians walk next to a sign advising people to wear masks on their way to shop in Tajrish square in the capital Tehran on Nov. 1, 2020. (AFP)
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Iran's Daily COVID-19 Deaths Hit Record of 459

Iranians walk next to a sign advising people to wear masks on their way to shop in Tajrish square in the capital Tehran on Nov. 1, 2020. (AFP)
Iranians walk next to a sign advising people to wear masks on their way to shop in Tajrish square in the capital Tehran on Nov. 1, 2020. (AFP)

Iran's daily tally of coronavirus deaths hit a record high of 459 on Sunday, the health ministry announced, increasing the official toll to 38,291 in the region’s worst-hit country.

Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 9,236 to 682,486.

Last week, the head of Iran's Medical Council, Mohammadreza Zafarghandi, doubted the accuracy of the official toll and warned that Iran had reached a "catastrophic mortality rate", the Students News Agency ISNA reported.

To stem a third wave of the virus, the government has shut schools, mosques, shops and restaurants in most of the country.

Authorities have warned that coronavirus tolls will further spike if Iranians failed to respect health protocols.

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US Senate Confirms Staunch Pro-Israel Conservative Huckabee as Israel Ambassador

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
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US Senate Confirms Staunch Pro-Israel Conservative Huckabee as Israel Ambassador

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)

The US Senate on Wednesday backed former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel, installing a staunch pro-Israel conservative in the high-profile post amid war in Gaza and relations complicated by US tariffs.

The Senate backed Huckabee by 53 to 46, largely along party lines, with Republicans all backing President Donald Trump's nominee and every Democrat except Pennsylvania's John Fetterman voting against him.

An evangelical Christian, Huckabee has been a vocal supporter of Israel throughout his political career and a longtime defender of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Critics said the former Republican presidential candidate was too partisan to represent the United States given the sensitivity of negotiations to end the war in Gaza and avoid broader regional war.

But Huckabee's supporters said he knew Israel well, having visited more than 100 times, and was well positioned to work closely with Trump.

"We urgently need a qualified ambassador in the region, and I have no doubt Mike Huckabee is that person," Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said as he urged support for the nominee.