These days, governments’ ability and merit are measured by their successes in containing the coronavirus. In such circumstances, rulers should make tough decisions between rescuing the countries’ economies and the lives of citizens.
The honesty certainly rules leaders to opt second judgment, however, several states like Iran prefer to sacrifice ordinary people to resume their economic cycle.
Two months earlier, the Iranian people, of course, experienced this criminal decision-making. At the time, the government permitted the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)-owned Mahan Airlines to continue its flight to and from China despite the world almost had cut off its relationship. The IRGC’s disastrous profiteering resulted in spreading the deadly virus not only in Iran but also in at least 17 other countries according to the WHO’s representative for Iraq Dr. Adham Ismail on March 29.
“If [Iranians] weren’t infected by their negligence due to [the regime’s] relationship with China, elections, and not adopting health measures in commutes to Qom [the virus] would not spread to 17 other nations. Iran[’s regime] was the reason for contaminating 17 countries. If not for Iran, we wouldn’t be in such a state,” Dr. Ismail said.
Notably, the decision for resuming financial activities has never been made by the regime’s president Hassan Rouhani alone. Given that there is a sole decision-maker in Iran– the supreme leader Ali Khamenei–, Rouhani cannot adopt a policy without Khamenei’s approval. “The president in the Islamic Republic is like a janitor,” the regime’s former president Mohammad Khatami said.
Additionally, on November 17, while countrywide protests were flaming against the sudden rise in gasoline prices, Khamenei bluntly expressed his support for the price hikes and described protesters as “rioters.” He also unilaterally stopped the Parliament’s bill for returning the prices through a secret letter.
However, the unwise decision for resuming business in Iran prompted state-run media and several former and current officials to raise their voices. “Rouhani’s order for starting the economic activities has been issued, while the Health Ministry’s officials like the Minister Saeed Namaki and the commander of the counter-coronavirus operation in Tehran Alireza Zali frankly warned about consequences of such a decision and announced their objection,” the state-run Arman daily wrote on April 6.
Also, the former Health Minister Kamran Bagheri Lankarani warned Rouhani about the resumption of economic activities through an open letter. “In such circumstances, underestimating the consequences could put our country in critical condition and cause the death of tens of thousands of people and send hundreds of thousands to the hospitals,” Lankarani wrote.
Additionally, the head of the Judiciary Ebrahim Raisi blamed Rouhani and said, “Saving the people’s lives is a priority, between the people’s health and resuming several businesses,” according to the state-run Mizan website on April 6.
“Rouhani has divided provinces and described the [coronavirus] situation in a province as gray, another one white, and another red… We are struggling to control the situation in this status quo and President’s word, decision, and reasoning are 100 percent a wrong decision,” the state-run Mehr news agency quoted an MP Ahmad Moradi on April 5.
In conclusion, employing quarantine needs a government that is able to supply citizens. Therefore, given the mullahs’ refusal to spend national resources for the people, quarantining measures is likely impossible in Iran. “In this context, [the government] prefers to infect all the society [with the coronavirus] and admit the death of several million people to implement the ‘Gregarious Immunization’ plan,” the state-run Jahan-e Sanat newspaper wrote on April 6.
The regime truly made the society, especially the workforce, confused between their health and business. In this respect, more fatalities are predicted under the rule of the mullahs who rejected quarantine as an “outdated, expired method.” Unfortunately, people should pay the cost of officials’ incompetence and imprudence. However, contrary to the past, it seems the mullahs cannot escape from their recent crimes against the people who have lost everything.
Source » irannewsupdate