World

Iran's death toll up by 94

The makeshift hospital set up at the international exhibition center in northern Tehran. -- File photo
By Tommy Hilton DUBAI -- Iran's death toll from the new coronavirus rose by less than a hundred for the second day on Wednesday, rising from 4,683 to 4,777, while the total number of cases increased to 76,389. Iran's health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on state TV that there had been 94 deaths in the past 24 hours. This would suggest a slight slowdown in the number of people dying from coronavirus in Iran, which is the worst-hit country in the Middle East region. Opposition groups, however, have questioned the Iranian government's official numbers, with the anti-government Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) alleging that the real death toll from COVID-19 is over 26,000. The MEK has been accused of being a cult-like organization. -- Al Arabiya English