Posts
Warning:
This is reprinted from the Washington Post
Coronavirus burial pits in Iran visible from space
12
March, 2020
Two
days after Iran declared its first cases of the novel coronavirus —
in what would become one of the largest outbreaks of the illness
outside of China — evidence of unusual activity appeared at a
cemetery near where the infections emerged.
At
the Behesht-e Masoumeh complex in Qom, about 80 miles south of
Tehran, the excavation of a new section of the graveyard began as
early as Feb. 21, satellite images show, and then rapidly expanded as
the virus spread. By the end of the month, two large trenches —
their lengths totaling 100 yards — were visible at the site from
space.
According
to expert analysis, video testimony and official statements, the
graves were dug to accommodate the rising number of virus victims in
Qom.
In
the weeks after the first confirmed coronavirus cases in Qom, Iranian
authorities dug two large trenches, totaling 100 yards in length, in
the previously unused area of the cemetery to accommodate the rising
number of victims.
Satellite
imagery from March 1 shows the two trenches. Excavation continued
after that.
Iran,
a nation of about 80 million people, has suffered a particularly
deadly surge of coronavirus infections, including among its top
leadership. Iran’s Health Ministry says that 429 people have died
of the virus, which causes the disease known as covid-19, and more
than 10,000 have fallen ill. Among the dead are members of
parliament, a former diplomat and even a senior adviser to the
Supreme Leader. At least two dozen other officials, including a vice
president, have been infected.
In
Qom, the spiritual center of Iran’s ruling Shiite clerics, more
than 846 people have contracted the virus, officials say. Iran’s
government has not released an official death toll for Qom, however,
where about 1.2 million people live. But videos, satellite images and
other open-source data from the cemetery — a vast complex six miles
north of the city center — suggest that the number of people struck
down by the virus there is significantly higher than the official
figure.
'Biologic war': Former
Iranian president says
coronavirus was 'produced
in laboratories'
9 March, 2020
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to the United Nations promoting a conspiracy theory that COVID-19 is a biological weapon created in a laboratory.
The bombastic former leader posted a copy of his letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday. In the letter, he claimed COVID-19 is “a new weapon for establishing and/or maintaining [the] political and economic upper hand in the global arena.”
He went on to say the flulike illness, which has infected tens of thousands, was “produced in laboratories” by the “warfare stock houses of biologic war belonging to world hegemonic powers.” Ahmadinejad, who, during his tenure as president, promoted the destruction of Israel, said the illness was more destructive than nuclear and chemical weapons.
The coronavirus has particularly affected Iran, where more than 7,000 people have been infected and at least 237 have died. However, that number has been disputed by academics and dissident groups who claimed there could be tens if not hundreds of thousands of cases.
The flulike illness recently killed a top adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and has infected Iran's Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi and Masoumeh Ebtekar, one of the country’s vice presidents.
(Ebrahim Noroozi/AP)
As of last week, about 10% of Iran’s parliament contracted COVID-19, a number that further raised questions about its reporting. Citing internal data, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a resistance group advocating regime change, claimed that more than 2,000 people have died.
There were more than 600 confirmed cases and 22 deaths across the United States as of Monday afternoon. The outbreak, combined with dropping oil prices, caused circuit breakers in the stock market to halt trading at its open on Monday, with declines in the Dow Jones Industrial index reaching about 8% at times.
A
former American counter-terrorism specialist and military
intelligence officer of the CIA has said that the “Coronavirus did
not occur naturally through mutation but rather was produced in a
laboratory, possibly as a biological warfare agent.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.