A BBC Persian service investigation, based on the government's cited records, has found that coronavirus fatalities in Iran are almost triple what Tehran says. The latter indicate that almost 42,000 people have died, as compared with the 14,405 reported by the country’s health authorities.
Per the findings, the overall number of people diagnosed with the virus is likewise almost double the official figures: 451,024 to 278,827. What the statistics demonstrate is that even given the official estimates Iran tops the list of the worst-hit countries in the Middle East. In recent weeks, it has suffered a second wave, as a new abrupt rise in the number of infections has been registered across the nation.
The investigation suggests the first COVID-related death in Iran was recorded on 22 January, as per files and medical records obtained by the BBC. The date is almost a month before the first case of coronavirus was formally acknowledged in Iran, reportedly at the hands of two brothers, both doctors from Qom, whose brother had died from COVID symptoms and recorded a pre-mortem verdict. The Iranian Health Ministry, which has yet to comment on the matter, has been acting under pressure from the country’s security and intelligence, doctors have shared with the BBC.
"They got unlucky. Someone with both decency and influence lost his brother. Dr Molayi had access to these gentlemen [Health Ministry officials] and did not give up", claimed Dr Pouladi, who didn’t give his real name due to the sensitivity of the topic.
The medic told the edition that the ministry "was in denial".
"Initially, they did not have testing kits and when they got them, they weren't used widely enough. The position of the security services was not to admit to the existence of coronavirus in Iran", Dr Pouladi alleged.
The data suggests that the capital Tehran has seen the highest number of deaths, with 8,120 fatalities from COVID-19 or demonstrated symptoms similar to it.
The city of Qom, the initial epicentre of the virus in Iran, is worst hit proportionally, with 1,419 deaths. That is one for every 1,000 people.
Across the country, 1,916 deaths were registered among non-Iranian nationals, hinting at a disproportionate number of deaths among migrants and refugees that have fled neighbouring Afghanistan, the findings suggest.
The source claims they shared this data with the British media outlet to "shed light on truth" and to end "political games" regarding the epidemic and discrepancies in statistics, which have been reported in quite a few countries in light of differences in testing methods, and due to varying access to testing kits, etc.
Iranian authorities haven't yet commented on the investigation.
Lockdown measures were imposed in the country over Nowruz, the Iranian New Year holidays, at the end of the third week in March, and cases and deaths subsequently fell. Yet, as soon as the government restrictions were relaxed, the statistics again showed a worrisome trend starting from late May. According to updated Johns Hopkins University estimates, as of 3 August, Iran has seen over 309,000 corona cases, and 17,190 related deaths.
