Press TV - An Iranian lawmaker says the country’s parliament is considering whether to suspend sessions due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, as authorities predict a surge in infections in the upcoming week.

Spokesman for the Iranian Parliament’s presiding board Asadollah Abbasi said on Friday that Health Minister Saeed Namaki had written to Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani urging the suspension of the sessions “for the time being.”

Namaki made the request as the head of the country’s newly-formed National Taskforce for Fighting Coronavirus, Abbasi said.

The spokesman added that a decision on the matter will be announced after debating the issue on Saturday.

According to the latest statement released by Iran’s Health Ministry on Friday, coronavirus infections have taken the lives of 34 Iranians, with a total number of 388 people having been diagnosed with the disease across the country.



Four Iranian parliament members have tested positive for the new coronavirus, including the representative for the city of Qom, where cases were first detected in Iran.

Speaking on Friday, Namaki said that authorities expected a “surge” in infections in the upcoming week based on epidemiological observations of international and domestic infection trends.

He added that schools across the country would be closed until Monday.

China voices readiness to assist Iran

Speaking with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a phone call on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced his country’s readiness to provide aid and share the country’s findings in combating the virus outbreak.

The Chinese foreign minister also called for scientific cooperation with Iran in the fields related to countering the pandemic.

Expressing his country’s solidarity with the government and people of Iran, Wang added that Zarif had been the first foreign official to voice support for China’s struggle in countering the disease.

Zarif, in return, thanked China for its support and welcomed research cooperation on the matter.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying announced earlier on Friday that the first batch of Chinese aid for Iran had arrived in the country, vowing that more would follow in the future.