US, adversaries using coronavirus to spread Iranophobia, Sinophobia

An American political analyst highlights the allegations by American officials and media about Iran’s handling of a coronavirus outbreak originating from China, saying the US and some other adversaries of Tehran and Beijing are exploiting the epidemic to spread Iranophobia and Sinophobia.

“We see the Sinophobia and now Iranophobia in your part of the world that’s totally unwarranted,” Dennis Etler, a former professor of anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, told Press TV on Tuesday.

“You read all sorts of nasty things written by US commentators in the news and social media, really horrible things that have no bearing on the situation, except being an opportunity to take advantage of a nation and a people, when they’re down,” he added.

“The US, in particular, and other nations, who have an axe to grind will use this as an opportunity to defame and disparage their enemies, or whomever they consider to be their enemies,” Etler noted.

The pundit cited “great similarities” in the way Tehran and Beijing were being targeted in the campaign, citing “the fact that they stand on their own two feet” as well as their refusal to buckle under US pressure.

Etler, meanwhile, referred to Iran as “the China of the Middle East in terms of its sheer size and economic significance as well as technological and scientific contributions.”

The virus — named COVID-19 — first emerged in China late last year and is now spreading in Europe and across the Middle East, sparking fears of a global pandemic.

The outbreak has killed more than 2,600 people and infected more than 77,000 others in China. But the situation has worsened elsewhere with nearly 2,700 other cases and more than 40 deaths globally.

In Iran, the virus showed up in the north-central city of Qom, a destination for Muslim pilgrims from across the world. In all, the spread has taken 15 lives across the country and infected as many as 95 others, most of them in Qom.

The US and its regional and extra-regional allies as well as certain media outlets have, however, been trying to question Iran’s behavior in the aftermath of the outbreak or exaggerate the extent of the problem inside the country.

Earlier on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Beijing and Tehran of censoring information about the outbreak and putting the rest of the world at greater risk.

Hyped-up media reports, meanwhile, have been seeking to eclipse Iran’s extensive measures aimed at containing the spread.

Foreign media outlets have drawn attention to Iranian airliners’ humanitarian flights to China, while countries like Mideast tourist hubs Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, where leaked information point to 18 coronavirus deaths and 80 infections, retain their flights to and from China.

The UAE, however, has closed its airspace to Iranian flights.

Pakistan and Afghanistan that border China also keep their common borders with their neighbor open, but have not been singled out in the media coverage.

Iran enjoys advanced standing on the international stage in terms of progress in the field of medical sciences.

Iranian officials say they have been transparent on the number of its coronavirus fatalities and infections in contrast to many other states’ apparent policy of covering up the extent of the problem within their borders.

Iranian medical officials have assured that Iran would, in the near future, rein in the outbreak, noting that the condition of many patients diagnosed with the virus had improved.

Ali Akbar Velayati, head of Tehran’s Masih Daneshvari Hospital, said at a press conference on Monday that the task of combating the spread was no harder than that of tackling an influenza epidemic in the country, which has been brought under control.

Mohammad Mehdi Gooya, the director of the Health Ministry’s Center for Prevention of Infectious Diseases, also stressed that most of those infected with the coronavirus were showing signs of recovery.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Iran’s elite defense force, has expressed preparedness to help fight the outbreak, and Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami has assigned his Ministry's subsidiary organizations with the task of mass-producing liquid disinfectants and protective masks, which are currently in high demand as Iranians want to take protective measures to guard against the virus.

The country has, meanwhile, announced the closure of schools and universities, and health centers have been tasked with distributing protective face masks.

A biological weapon?

American political analyst and radio host Stephen Lendman, who was also interviewed by Press TV on Tuesday, meanwhile, pointed to the likelihood of the virus being “a bioweapon.”

“This is what law professor Francis Boyle believes. The professor from Illinois, who is an expert on bioweapons, believes that coronavirus had nothing to do with bats or other animals spreading it to humans,” he said, speaking to the network.

“It certainly is possible that this is the case. And if this is a bioweapon and if the US is using it, then the US could spread it anywhere it wishes to infect people in any country it wishes to attack,” Lendman added.