“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.
MNA/ 4879787
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