Since long ago, most countries around the world suspended all flights to China to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. However, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) continued flights to China by using its Mahan Air airlines.
In this context, not only did Mahan Airlines not cancel its scheduled flights, but it also launched a pipeline for transferring Chinese cargoes and passengers, seriously endangering the health of Iranian citizens.
IRGC Lies and the Coronavirus Transmission to Iran
“All flights between the two countries have been suspended since the day Iran ordered to stop flights to China,” Reza Jafarzhadeh, a director of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, told ROKNA news agency on February 20.
However, as routine flights continued from Iran to China, this official insisted on this false claim, saying, “The flights to China are transferring cargo and not passengers, and are under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.” This false claim, reiterated by other officials, is tantamount to the government’s planned secrecy following the downing of the Ukrainian airliner by the IRGC anti-aircraft system.
The Scandal of Mahan Air’s Flights to China
Iranian authorities firmly pursued to conceal flights of Mahan Air to China; however, their miscalculation resulted in another scandal for their government. Nonetheless, they had already recorded significant instances in secrecy and non-transparency.
However, Iranian officials seem to have not to realize that in the communication age, it is impossible to hide obvious facts, such as the origin and destination, of a plane from the public. In this context, the government’s non-transparency is more costly than its inability to control and curb more outbreaks of the deadly virus.
Notably, the World Health Organization (WHO) has committed to timely reviewing the situation with transparency and update evidence as an essential path to address the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, in flagrant contrast to WHO’s recommendation and obligation, the Iranian government deliberately concealed the scope of the virus’s expansion in fear of keeping “voters” from the polls during the February 21 parliamentary elections.
Iran Briefing | News Press Focus on Human Rights Violation by IRGC, Iran Human Rights