DUBAI: Iranian state media have published claims that a medicine made in the cash-strappedcountry for coronavirus patients will be available on the local market in three weeks.The Iranian claims sparked controversy and lots of skepticism on social media.
The (ISNA) on Sunday quoted the country’s Vice President for Science and Technology, Sorena Sattari, as making the claims.
The later carried a version of the same story descrbing the alleged breakthrough as“an Iranian-made medicine designed to help combat the novel coronavirus.”
Sattari was quoted as sayingIranian companies at a science park in Iran’s Hamadan province hadplayed a critical role in combatting the pandemic – particularly in fulfilling the country’s medical equipment needs.
There are billions of dollars in funding being offered to laboratories worldwide to find the cure for the coronavirus pandemic.
Asimple search of the World Health Organisation’s document entitled “” dated July 24, 2020 makes no mention of any Iranian laboratories - or other - making any headway into finding a medicine that would help, let alone cure the coronavirus.
Iran was slow to react to the initial outbreak and soon became the worst hit country in the Middle East - and remains so even now - it has more than 293,600 infections, and over 15,000 fatalities.
Iran has the eleventh highest number of cases of COVID-19 in the world, according to the website ,and ranks the tenth highest for fatalities.
In MarchIranian authorities issued an arrest warrant for a cleric, after video footage circulated showing him offering a COVID-19 patient perfume claiming it would cure the man's illness - the patient later died.
And in May Iran, derspite being the Middle East’s worst hit country for the disease, was still accepting pilgrims into the Shia holy city of Qom, while other religious sites around the world were closed, including Makkah's Grand Mosque.
