On March 12, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the United Nations to demand that the United States lift sanctions on Iran. In a letter to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Zarif alleged that the U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign was hampering Iran’s ability to cope with the COVID-19 coronavirus. By March 12, Iran reported 10,075 cases and 429 deaths.
Iran’s human rights record remained dismal in 2019, according to an annual report by the State Department. Issues included executions of juvenile offenders, denial of fair trials, poor prison conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, invasion of privacy, restrictions on freedom of expression, discrimination against women and minorities, and more.
On March 10, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Iran to release “all wrongfully detained Americans being held in Iran.” He warned that the United States would hold Iran accountable if any of the American prisoners died from coronavirus, which had spread to at least three Iranian prisons by February 25. “Our response will be decisive,” Pompeo said.
The spread of COVID-19, widely believed to have originated in China, has had severe repercussions across the globe. Coronavirus cases traced to Iran have shown up in at least 23 countries – from the United States and Europe to the Middle East and New Zealand – spread either by their own nationals who recently visited Iran or Iranian tourists.
March 9 marked 13 years since Robert Levinson went missing in Iran. Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared on March 9, 2007, during a visit to Kish Island. “For 13 years, the Iranian government has denied knowledge of his whereabouts or condition, a claim that defies credibility,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a statement marking the anniversary. “Iran must honor the commitment it has made to work with the United States for Mr. Levinson’s return.”
Since the 1980s, Iran has forged a network of political alliances across the Middle East that now give it more influence than its Gulf rivals and the United States. Tehran has exploited local grievances, sectarian identity, and conflicts to create or foster political parties, most visibly in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian Territories but also smaller underground movements in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Iran’s government was initially slow to react to the spread of coronavirus, which was first reported in Qom on February 19. But as the death toll rose, Iran upped its efforts to contain the disease, which had reached all 31 provinces by March 5. The government closed schools, universities and cultural centers and cancelled Friday prayer in several provinces. It dispatched security forces, firemen and health workers to disinfect streets and public transportation. In Qom, roadblocks were set up to screen people leaving the city.
The Iranian public coped with the outbreak of the coronavirus in a wide variety of ways. Some made personal sacrifices for the benefit of society. The chief nurse of a Tehran hospital postponed her wedding ceremony so that she could continue working. Others responded by trying to keep public morale up by posting messages of solidarity and uplifting videos on social media. But there was also a video of an attack on a clinic rumored to be treating coronavirus patients. By March 9, the virus had infected 7,161 people in all 31 provinces; 237 had died.
On March 3, 2020, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released two reports that criticized Iran for violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In the first report, the U.N. nuclear watchdog found Iran had tripled its stockpile of low enriched uranium since its last quarterly report.
Iran’s prisons became a focal point in the outbreak of the coronavirus since shortly after the first case was reported on February 19. By February 25, cases were reported in at least three prisons— Karaj Prison, Evin Prison and Tehran's Greater Prison, also known as Fashafuyeh.
