Iran requests multibillion IMF loan as coronavirus cases reach 10,000

Iran has officially registered 10,000 cases of coronavirus, with the government requesting a multibillion-dollar emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund.
Members of the medical team wear protective face masks, following the coronavirus outbreak, as they spray disinfectant liquid to sanitise streets in Tehran, Iran March 05, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Nazanin Tabatabaee via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC2MDF9LK5B6
Members of the medical team wear protective face masks, following the coronavirus outbreak, as they spray disinfectant liquid to sanitize streets in Tehran, Iran, March 5, 2020. - WANA/Nazanin Tabatabaee via REUTERS
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

As cases of coronavirus surge in Iran, the government is now seeking a multibillion-dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Iran’s Central Bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati wrote to the IMF requesting $5 billion in emergency funding from its Rapid Financing Instrument, he said on Instagram March 12. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet that Iran requested the money “immediately” and called on the IMF to “stand on [the] right side of history and act responsibly.” 

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