Iran is continuing to be hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and officials fear it is only a matter of time before another powerful variant — possibly even a home-grown one — will follow the Delta variant and further devastate the country.
"Given the ongoing situation, and the vast spread of the virus, it is not too much to assert that we are about to face a new indigenous variant," said Alijan Tabraee, the head of the Iranian Society of Virologists. "We have created the hotbed for the virus to mutate," he added, noting that it could be only a matter of weeks before such a variant sweeps nationwide.
