Faced with the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently wrote a letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, asking him to play a role in lifting US sanctions. Since then, Islamabad has speeded up diplomatic efforts to provide relief to Tehran in combating the disease.
On March 19 in Iran, 149 people died — one person every 10 minutes — because of COVID-19, the government said. The rate was still about the same March 26, when 156 deaths were reported.