These days, the number of Covid-19 fatalities have drastically increased in Iran. On October 19, the Health Ministry Spokesperson Sima Sadat Lari surprised the people, announcing 337 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours, the highest official statistics since the health crises began in February.

This number is more than twice the record of the first wave (158 deaths on April 4) and around 1.5 times the record of the second wave (235 deaths on July 28), according to IRNA news agency.

Iran’s Actual Death Toll of Coronavirus

However, this is not the entire story. The regime has misled society in the past month to contain public outrage against its horrible mismanagement. However, the Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) provided precise details about the coronavirus victims.

On October 20, the PMOI/MEK reported that the coronavirus death toll in Iran has now reached at least 128,000 and accused the Iranian regime of using its poor response to the pandemic in order to suppress protests and quash any suggestion of an uprising.

The PMOI/MEK noted that coronavirus cases are rising, becoming so out of control that hospitals are running out of beds, ICUs have no available space, medical staff are overwhelmed, and more people are dying.

They said that coronavirus task force member Masoud Mardani has called this the third wave of the virus and warned of a fourth in the press, but the PMOI/MEK rightly assessed that this should actually all be considered the first and only wave because the regime took no measures to protect the people and slow the spread.

The PMOI/MEK has been monitoring closely all the outbreaks, hospital admissions, and deaths through a network of organized intelligence sources inside Iran to cut through officials’ lies about virtually empty hospitals and a death rate of around 31,000.

The PMOI/MEK says that because of hospital records and eyewitness accounts it’s hard to get the coronavirus statistics this wrong, so the regime must be doing it on purpose. At first, even telling the people it was safe to go back out so that the Iranian public, who hate the regime, would get sick and die and there would be less of a fighting force against the mullahs.

The Mullahs Cover-up the Truth About Covid-19 to Contain Public Fury

“One of the worst acts that the regime has done is ignoring the danger signs when the outbreak began. Instead, they let it follow its own course and are now concealing the real figures,” the PMOI/MEK wrote.

The regime needs to project a low figure to the world so that they can look good and not attract attention, but the people now know the truth. This, the PMOI/MEK argues, is preventing more people from coming out into the streets to protest the regime’s bad response and otherwise repressive rule from fear that they will contract coronavirus and die.

The PMOI/MEK then accused the regime of attempting to blame sanctions for the unacceptable response to the pandemic, noting that there are billions of dollars held in foundations – controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) – that are supposed to help the poor. This money could have been used to provide free facemasks to the poor, especially now that not wearing one is subject to a hefty fine in Tehran, or pay non-essential workers to stay home to stop the spread of the virus. But they won’t because the regime doesn’t care and nothing will change until the mullahs are removed from power.

Summary of Repression and Human Rights Violations in Iran – July 2020

This was touched upon by the opposition leader Maryam Rajavi in a recent speech. “Today, regime change in Iran is indispensable, not only for freedom and democracy… but also for the health of each and every individual in Iran and for the protection of their houses, cities, and villages against natural disasters,” she said.