Iran's Health Ministry reported 13,621 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, raising the total nationwide number of infections to 989,572.

With consecutive daily increases of over 13,000 new infections, the worst-hit country in the Middle East is to exceed 1 million soon.

Spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health Sima Sadat Lari said the pandemic has so far claimed 48,990 lives in Iran, up by 362 in the past 24 hours.

Also, a total of 688,054 people have recovered, while 5,828 remain in intensive care units, she added.

Since last week, the Iranian government started to reinstate strict measures to curb the spread of the virus.