Iran’s Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said he was going through treatment under home quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus. The former military commander is the latest in a string of over 30 Iranian parliamentarians who have joined the infected population. At least three of them have died.
Ghalibaf’s announcement was perhaps no shock to advisers of President Hassan Rouhani. Earlier in October, Rouhani canceled a meeting with the parliament speaker over infection fears after Ghalibaf visited a hospital in the capital Tehran where COVID-19 patients in critical condition receive treatment. The cancellation sparked a verbal clash between the two top officials and their teams.