Tehran, IRNA – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani on Monday, called for any possible measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease and the circulation of the virus.
The Leader’s call followed a letter by Health Minister Saeed Namaki to Ayatollah Khamenei in which the minister had called for a two-week nationwide shutdown to be able to prevent the circulation of the virus and pass through the fifth wave of the disease in the country.
Namaki had said that the health workers are under heavy pressure, urging the need for mobilizing all the country’s capacities to seriously fight against the pandemic.
He had also called for considering the possibility of using the armed forces and the police to deal with those who refuse to observe the health protocols.
In his letter to President Rouhani, the Supreme Leader asked for considering the issue in the national headquarters for the fight against the coronavirus disease and taking any possible measure in this regard.
A copy of Ayatollah Khamenei’s letter was also sent to President-elect Ebrahim Raisi who is scheduled to take the oath of office on Thursday.
Earlier on the day, Iran's Health Ministry said that the number of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Iran increased to 91,407 with 411 more Iranians killed by the deadly disease over the past 24 hours.