The state news agency IRNA reports that the operation will start within the next 24 hours.

- Our law enforcement and security committees, together with the Ministry of the Interior, will clear shops, streets and roads. This will happen within the next 24 hours, ”Major General Mohammad Bagheri told Iranian state television.

11,364 people have been infected and 514 people have died in Covid-19, according to the Iranian authorities. Many people suspect that the real death toll is significantly higher as there is a lack of test kits and medical facilities.

The new measure comes after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the country's army to lead the fight against the new corona virus.

"For the next ten days, the whole of Iran will be monitored via the internet, telephone and if necessary also personally, and those who are suspected of being ill will be identified," said Bagheri.

Top advisers have passed away

The epicenter of the infection is the holy city of Qom. From there, the virus has spread through pilgrims both to other cities in Iran and to other countries in the Middle East. Although the authorities ordered a closure of the city's shrines, the decision has not been followed up and the shrines have been open to visitors.

The New York Times and CNN have in recent days published satellite images that are said to show how a mass grave was dug in Qom.

Several high-ranking politicians, including two vice presidents and 23 members of the country's parliament, are among those infected. A close adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has passed away in Covid -19.

At the same time, 70,000 prisoners have been released from Iran's overcrowded prisons over the past week to delay the spread of infection. The UN has called on the country's leaders to release all political prisoners as the health care resources of the country's prisons are limited.

Iran's health care has already been severely strained because of the financial sanctions against the country, and the country has applied for an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund to fight the new corona virus.