8 June

The Iranian government says it has no choice but to keep its economy going despite a recent new wave of coronavirus infections.

The remarks come after the number of daily new infections reached a record high of 3,574 on Thursday.

By Sunday, the total tally of cases in Iran hit 171,789, the highest in the Middle East, surpassing the number in Turkey.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday the country's medical services are working well, and it has no choice but to take thorough measures to prevent infections and keep business activities going.

His remark is understood to mean the government is cautious about reimposing restrictions on the economy.

Observers say Iran wants to avoid further economic stagnation in the face of US sanctions, which have banned crude oil exports and raised the inflation rate to more than 30 percent.

The number of new coronavirus infections in Iran fell after peaking at the end of March, with lockdown measures imposed earlier.

In mid-April, the Iranian government began to allow business activities to restart in phases, but the number of infections was on the rise again in May.

NHK