Tehran (AFP)

Iranian Deputy Minister of Health Iraj Harirchi confirmed on Tuesday that he is infected with the new coronavirus, in a country first among those affected by the disease after China, where the virus originated.

During a press conference in Tehran on Monday with government spokesman Ali Rabii, Harirchi had coughed several times and appeared to be sweating.

During this conference, he denied the assertion of a deputy that fifty people have lost their lives as a result of the epidemic of viral pneumonia in Qom, a holy city in the center of the country from where the virus started in Iran. . He had promised to resign if this figure was confirmed.

In a video broadcast on state television, the deputy minister said he was infected with the new coronavirus after a positive test.

"I was also infected with the coronavirus," he said, appearing to have made the video himself. "I had a fever last night and the preliminary tests were positive around midnight," he added.

"I have isolated myself since (...) after my last test, I started treatment," he said again.

"The test on Mr. Harirchi, Deputy Minister of Health who was on the front lines against the coronavirus, was positive," previously announced on Twitter Alireza Vahabzadeh, media advisor to the Minister of Health.

"I wanted to tell you that (...) we will defeat this virus in the coming weeks," added Harirchi, warning that the virus could infect anyone, "without discrimination."

In a tweet, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also said that the virus "knows no borders" and does not differentiate between "ethnicities and beliefs", calling for more "regional cooperation" to facing the epidemic.

Shortly after the announcement of Harirchi's contamination, the government spokesman with whom he appeared on Monday appeared at another press conference with other senior officials, including a minister, despite the risks of contagion.

- Second politician infected -

A prominent reformist politician, Mahmoud Sadégui, also announced on Tuesday that he was infected.

"My test is positive. I am sending this message but I have little hope for my survival," said the outgoing deputy in a tweet a few days after the parliamentary elections.

He took the opportunity to call on the courts to grant temporary release to detainees imprisoned on political or security charges so that they can "face this epidemic with their families".

Iran confirmed 34 new cases and three deaths on Tuesday, bringing the number of people infected more than 90 and the total number of dead to 15, the highest death toll after China, where more than 2,600 people lost their lives. life.

According to the Ministry of Health, most of the cases concern people who had recently gone to Qom, a city which has not yet been quarantined.

Health Minister Said Namaki on Tuesday defended the move, saying quarantine was an "old way".

"We think people are informed enough to refrain from traveling from affected cities to other places," he said, according to the semi-official agency Isna.

© 2020 AFP