Kianoush Jahanpour said on Thursday 66 patients died of the virus in the past 24 hours, increasing the death toll to 7,249.
However, he added, no one died of the disease in 12 provinces in this period of time.
He also confirmed 2,392 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the totall number of cases to 129,341.
2,655 patients are in severe conditions of the disease, the spokesman added.
So far, 746,045 COVID-19 tests have been taken across the country, according to Jahanpour.
In a statement on Thursday, Mousavi condemned the new sanctions, and said the US regime’s addiction to imposition of sanctions is indicative of the country’s unlawful and arbitrary behaviours against the integrity of the international law and order.
“The US regime targets the legal bodies and officials of independent governments with its hostile policies,” Mousavi noted.
“The futile, repetitive, and blind sanctions imposed by the US regime against the interior minister, the commander of the Law Enforcement, and other officials of our country indicate the weakness, desperation, and confusion of the US regime,” the spokesman noted.
He said the new sanctions have been imposed based on Washington’s usual delusions, under the influence of ill-informed advisors, and in reaction to the regime’s failures vis-à-vis the strong resolve of the Iranian nation and government.
“The recent sanction is considered another blatant violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and the US government’s commitments under the international law,” Mousavi said, urging the international community to hold the US accountable for such blatant violations.
“By imposing and implementing such sanctions, the United States has ignored deep-rooted internationally-accepted decency and conventions, and has directly targeted individuals and bodies who are closely intertwined with the order and security of the Iranian nation, and the security of the region in a broader sense,” he concluded.
Mousavi’s comments came after the United States imposed sanctions on eight Iranian officials, including Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli.
The US treasury announced the sanctions Wednesday amid the Trump administration’s anti-Iran campaign.
Iran’s Law Enforcement Force Commander Hossein Ashtari is among the seven others sanctioned.
The measure was said to be aimed at holding “accountable Iranian officials and institutions” over the November 2019 unrest in Iran.
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Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei said Wednesday the cabinet has approved the regulations for allowing children of Iranian mothers and foreign fathers to obtain Iranian citizenship.
Rabiei said the children who have reached the age of 18, even if their mother dies or gets divorce, can enjoy the benefits of this law and obtain Iranian citizenship.
Many believe the law could improve the lives of thousands of children, including those with Iranian mothers married to undocumented immigrants.
In May 2019, Iran’s Parliament adopted the reform to the law, but it went back and forth from the Guardian Council to determine whether it is in accordance with Iran’s Constitution and Islamic law.
Iran’s Guardian Council finally approved the legislation in October 2019.
Brigadier General Amir Hatami said the Americans and others know Iran will certainly not hesitate to respond in this regard.
“Disrupting the navigation of tankers is against international rules and security, and international organisations are sensitive to the rules and safety of waterways,” he said in a weekly cabinet session.
Hatami said this is a kind of piracy and Iran’s policy is very clear. Tehran has announced very clearly that it will not tolerate any provocation.
Five Iranian tankers likely carrying gasoline are now sailing toward Venezuela, amid the tensions between the two sanctioned nations and the United States.
Washington has called for the cessation of shipments between the two sanctioned countries.
Tehran and Caracas have had strong ties for years, in part due to their hostile approach towards the United States. Both countries help each other maintain trade in the face of US sanctions.
The Islamic Republic’s Health Minister Saeid Namaki said Iran is interested in expanding trade relations with these countries, and has announced readiness to provide technical support in the field of disease management to Yemen, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
Speaking in a televised speech on Wednesday, he said in separate phone conversations he and his Arab counterparts have talked about various issues regarding the spread of the coronavirus in these countries and exchanged views on how to deal with these problems.
“I also thanked the friendly country of Qatar, for its cooperation in providing some equipment, especially masks, during this period,” added Namaki.
Supervisor of a team of archaeologists said the six earthenware dishes have been found without any damages after excavation at ‘Moshelan’ archaeological site near Savojbolagh in Iran’s northern province of Alborz.
Apart from the earthenware dishes, which had been buried in the fifth millennium BCE probably as part of a burial ceremony, ancient layers of soil, earthen objects and bones have been also discovered in the site, Siavash Saraqi added.
The new findings include footed dishes, clay vats, and dishes with red gutter-shaped spouts decorated with geometric patterns and drawings of animals, such as goats, dating back to the Cheshmeh-Ali era, he noted.
The Moshelan Hill, also known as Ismail Abad, is a major archeological site located in Savojbolagh in Iran’s central plateau that dates back to the fifth millennium BCE, he added, saying the area was excavated for the first time in 1957-1958, and once again later in 1977 by Masoumeh Navaei.
Considering the expansion of rural areas in the region, the historic hill has been poorly protected, he added, saying the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism has authorized a delegation to begin feasibility studies to determine boundaries for the Moshelan Hill archeological site.
The studies show that the historic area is much larger than what has been reported earlier, Saraqi said, noting that much of the site in the western wing has been sadly bulldozed and turned into gardens and private villas.
Human civilization in Iran dates back to the Lower Paleolithic era, over 800,000 years ago, which is proven by archaeological finds made in the Kashafrud Basin.
Some of those evidences can be found at the Zagros Paleolithic Museum in Kermanshah in western Iran.
The Persian-language Twitter account of Ayatollah Khamenei sent a post on Wednesday ahead of the International Quds Day, reiterating that the Islamic Republic has nothing to do with the Jewish people.
“The abolishment of the Israeli government does not mean the abolishment Jews. We have nothing to do with the Jewish people,” the Leader said in the post.
Eliminating the Zionist regime doesn’t mean eliminating Jews. We aren’t against Jews. It means abolishing the imposed regime & Muslim, Christian & Jewish Palestinians choose their own govt & expel thugs like Netanyahu. This is “Eliminating Israel” & it will happen.#FlyTheFlag
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 20, 2020
“The abolishment of Israel means that the Muslim, Christian and Jewish people of Palestine should be able to choose their government themselves and oust the foreigners and ruffians, like Netanyahu,” read the message.
“The abolishment of Israel means this, and this will surely happen,” said the tweet.
The message included an excerpt of a speech that Ayatollah Khamenei had delivered on November 15, 2019, in a gathering of the heads of government branches, a group of government officials, ambassadors of Islamic countries and participants in the International Conference on Islamic Unity in Tehran.
President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday Tehran is pleased that a new government was formed in Iraq following consensus among various groups.
“This was a major step to ensure stability and boost economy in Iraq at these tough times.”
He further added that Iran welcomes the establishment of peace and stability in all neighbouring countries including Afghanistan.
“Thank God, the differences in Afghanistan were resolved and that led to a deal between political groups. We do hope this will bring more peace and security to our eastern neighbour.”
“We are very concerned about the fate of the Afghan people because we have helped the Afghans significantly during the past 42 years. We have received their migrants warmly during this time and will continue to do so,” he added.
Rouhani also noted that Iran is deeply rejoiced to see stability achieved on the east and west of the country.
This unnamed official said the recent US military directive on Iran’s naval activities in the region would not affect the Iranian forces’ missions, Nour News reported.
The source said Iran won’t make any change to its professional activities based on a directive by the forces whose presence in the region is illegitimate.
The US Navy said in a statement Tuesday night that it will take “legal defence measures” against vessels in the Middle East approaching a radius of 100 metres from US warships.
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