MNA � Iran�s Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi pointed to the need to increase the country�s power in biological defense.

�Boosting biological power is necessary given the current situation,� he said on Monday in a meeting with top officials of the Judiciary Branch.

Raeisi also praised the decision to free near 84,000 prisoners as a precaution to the outbreak.

His remarks come as some believe the COVID-19 outbreak in the country can be a form of biological warfare against countries such as Iran and China.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the Armed Forces to establish a special base to fight the outbreak in the country on Thursday. �Since there is speculation that this incident might be a �biological attack�, this measure could be also some form of biological defense drill, which would add to national power and strength [of the country],� the leader said.

Also, Head of Iran's Passive Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali said last week that �Of course one cannot say for sure that is a biological war but in fact, it has many features of a biological war,� while noting that further investigation is needed.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Army has started nationwide biological defense drills to increase readiness and boost efforts to contain the disease.

COVID-19 has so far infected over 171,000 individuals in more than 140 countries worldwide, causing 6,500 deaths and inflicting huge economic losses. Iran is one of the hard-hit countries with over 13,000 infections and 724 deaths as of Sunday.