WarSclerotic

Source: US to Iran: Coronavirus won’t save you from sanctions – The Jerusalem Post

“Washington’s increased pressure against Iran is a crime against humanity,” an Iranian official said. “All the world should help each other to overcome this disease,” he added.

By REUTERS

MARCH 20, 2020 11:22

A cleric man wears a protective mask amid concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) spread, at Najaf airport in the holy city of Najaf upon his arrival from Iran

(photo credit: REUTERS/ALAA AL-MARJANI)

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/what-coronavirus-means-regime-change-iran/608122/

Last week, I proposed that Iran’s coronavirus problem is much greater than commonly acknowledged, and that the true number of cases is perhaps hundreds of times greater than the official number. More signs of uncontrolled infection have emerged, and I fear I was optimistic. On Wednesday, Bahrain evacuated 165 of its citizens from Iran; 77 of them tested positive for the coronavirus. The Washington Post reported that satellite photographs showed a great furrow dug into a cemetery in Qom, reportedly to bury huge numbers of COVID-19 victims who had died already in that city. Other areas of Iran complained that they had run out of cemetery space, and that their numbers (then in the hundreds) were so great that they swamped the official national total, which even a week later is a mere 853. In Islam, bodies must be buried promptly and, in general, alone. You cannot bury two people together unless they are close family. One Iranian reported to me that the deaths were coming so fast that the survivors were requesting special dispensation to break this rule.

The economist Tyler Cowen asks, impishly, whether we should in fact be relieved, because apparently even when a society faces unrelenting misery—accelerated by the policies of its government—it doesn’t necessarily break down. Iran hasn’t turned into a criminal wasteland, with gangs in tricked-out, armored Paykans looting toilet paper and ventilators. In fact, it looks like Iranians have, like some Chinese before them, spawned informal systems of order, with roadblocks going up to prevent people from Tehran from fleeing to the countryside and bringing the disease with them. These efforts at containment have failed, but they were not forms of disorder, and most evidence suggests that when the plague abates, Iranians will have many things to mourn, but the irreversible disintegration of their society will not be among them.

The government is another matter. Many Iranians would celebrate its passing, and even its supporters have been watching for signs that the coronavirus will catalyze changes that should have come long ago, but that its authoritarian structure makes nearly impossible. The previous change of leadership came in 1989, as a result not of a modern political process but of biology: Ruhollah Khomeini, 86, died, and his deputy, Ali Khamenei, then 49, took over and has ruled ever since. He is now almost 81.

Given how many people are dying, it would be grotesque to think of COVID-19 as a lucky break for fans of regime change. But the news of ailing senior leaders keeps coming, and at some point the mullahs’ deep bench of gerontocrats will be depleted. Today, Ayatollah Hashem Bathaei-Golpaygani, a member of Khamenei’s Council of Experts, died of COVID-19 in Qom. Last week, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati announced that he had contracted the coronavirus. He is 74 years old, still cunning, and the chief adviser to Khamenei, to whom he speaks regularly and in person. If Velayati dies of the coronavirus, he will be the most important regime figure to die since Qassem Soleimani.

Of course, the center of all speculation is the supreme leader himself. Khamenei doesn’t appear in public often, even in the best of times, and you’d have to be fairly lucky to spot him—except on a few occasions where his appearance is so customary that an absence would make everyone, both allies and enemies, wonder if the coronavirus has felled him too.

As it happens, one such occasion is this week: Persian New Year, or Nowruz. This pre-Islamic holiday marks the vernal equinox, and this year it falls smack in the middle of coronavirus season. Last year, Khamenei stood at the largest Islamic pilgrimage site in Iran, the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad, and delivered a long, almost Fidel Castro–like speech detailing policies and plans. This year, the Islamic Republic canceled the speech 10 days in advance, “due to health recommendations to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus.”

As a matter of public health, the decision to call off a huge public gathering is wise and sane. But rumors do not die so easily. Couldn’t Khamenei just give his speech from a studio? Is this not the ideal opportunity, the first day of spring, to discuss the process of renewal that Iran will have to undertake to recommit itself to the ideals of its revolution? For the past two weeks, speculation has been rampant. Surely, say the rumors, Khamenei has the virus—or if he doesn’t, it’s because he has entered Howard Hughes–like seclusion, behind a flaming moat of Purell. These rumors aside, the perception of distance has made Khamenei, already a distant figure without charisma or warmth, seem superannuated and out of touch. If he does not show up, looking healthy, for his camera appearance this year, many will assume that he is in a febrile delirium somewhere.

In any other year, such an absence could, all by itself, trigger speculation about a stroke or even a coup d’état. (Imagine if the U.S. president failed to show up for a State of the Union address, or even—without a word of explanation—the pardoning of Thanksgiving turkeys.) What might save Khamenei is the simple fact that the whole Iranian nation is suffering together, and it isn’t clear which institutions are healthy enough to rival his leadership, even in this diminished state. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers are dying of COVID-19, just as civilians are. And ordinary people have sheltered in place, just as Europeans and Americans are (slowly) beginning to.

If the pandemic has exposed or confirmed the incompetence and malignance of governments, at the same time it has crippled the forces for improvement. The U.S. government has failed to provide the COVID-19 tests that tell us how to prepare for the coming waves of infection. But what can we do, other than go to war against the virus with the White House we have, instead of the White House we want? In Iran, popular protests in the streets simply cannot happen as long as the manpower for those protests remains sequestered at home, and as long as morale is utterly depleted by the task of burying one’s loved ones. Regime change might have to wait. At least the pandemic will eventually end, and with its end, change is one more thing to look forward to.

It’s called the Chinese Communist Party.

The Chinese Communist Party caused the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Now their propaganda is being swallowed wholesale by western media.

How WHO corruption helped the Wuhan coronavirus spread

Doctor who tried to warn the world about the Wuhan virus dies in hospital
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-c…

Muslims forced to eat pork and drink alcohol in China’s ‘re-education’ camps
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo…

Inside China’s ‘re-education camps’ where women are raped and sterilised
https://metro.co.uk/2019/10/08/inside…

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Source: Israel fully closes border to tourists amid coronavirus outbreak | The Times of Israel

Israel completely closes down its borders to foreigners in a bid to contain the coronavirus pandemic beginning immediately, the Population and Immigration Authority says.

Until now, Israel has allowed tourists into the country if they were able to quarantine themselves for two weeks.

“Beginning today, the entrance of foreigners will not be allowed into Israel, even if they can prove they could remain in quarantine,” the authority says in a statement.

Israeli citizens and residents will still be able to enter the country, the authority says.

The agency says the decision, which was recommended by the Health Ministry, goes into effect immediately, with the announcement.

Source: IDF, going on war footing to fight virus, expects crisis could last up to a year | The Times of Israel

TV reports military drafting orders that will allow it to take far greater role in combating COVID-19, from logistical support to possibility of enforcing curfews and lockdowns

The military is drafting new orders that would give it the powers to act to help stem the crisis and was adapting its “Summer Cage” orders prepared for the event of a wide-scale earthquake, the TV said.

This would allow the IDF to initially begin by assisting Israel’s medical system, possibly setting up hospitals and taking in patients. It could also put its logistical capabilities, including vehicles, drivers and other facilities at the government’s disposal.

It was also preparing plans, should the situation deteriorate, to enforce curfews and lockdowns on the civilian population, although the TV noted that such a possibility was still “a long way off.”

The report said that the IDF believes the crisis will last for several months, and even possibly up to a year, an assessment that was alluded to by Tuesday evening by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and  Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov.

“This is a huge crisis. We are only at the start of the campaign; the crux is yet before us,”  Netanyahu told a press conference.

“I know the mission will take time, these kinds of events are not short,” Bar Siman-Tov said without giving a specific time-frame. “Maybe we will be surprised and it will be short, but we are preparing for it not to be.”

The IDF has already recalled most of its troops and told many of them to expect to remain on base for at least a month without leave amid efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Access to certain installations and bases would also be restricted.

As of Saturday, the IDF has principally focused on maintaining its operational capabilities in the face of the COVID-19 coronavirus, but the military was also preparing to step in and assist civilian authorities respond to the disease in the general public.

“Israel’s emergency stores are full and equipped for a variety of scenarios,” Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said Saturday.

Netanyahu was on Tuesday forced to reprimand Israelis for failing to grasp the gravity of the growing coronavirus crisis, urging them to stay home wherever possible.

“This isn’t child’s play, it’s not summer vacation, it’s a matter of life and death,” Netanyahu said at an evening press conference after media outlets reported extensively over the past two days on now jobless Israelis making use of their freed up time to enjoy the beach and public parks.

Israelis eat take away meals in the trunk of their car of Jerusalem on March 17, 2020. The government orders all bars, restaurants and malls to close in an effort to contain the spread of virus.
(Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Charging that “too many” were failing to grasp the gravity of the situation, he urged Israelis to show “discipline and responsibility” in following social distancing instructions, avoiding public spaces and, whenever possible, staying home.

Fully five weeks after the first confirmed COVID-19 infection in Israel, no Israelis have yet died of the coronavirus — but both Netanyahu and Bar Siman-Tov said this would soon change.

“We assess that scenarios like in Italy and Spain can happen here too,” Bar Siman-Tov said. “In the coming days… the rate of new cases will rise — to 100 a day or more. We may come to a situation of hundreds more [cases] each day,” he said.

In the end, he said, “people will die — possibly even in the next few days.”

“To our sorrow, in our scenarios, many thousands [of Israelis] could die.” Thus the goal of Israel’s measures was to keep that number down by minimizing contagion, said Bar Siman-Tov.

The comments came as the Health Ministry announced on Tuesday evening that the number of confirmed infections in the country had reached 377, up from 304 in the morning — and as the global death toll passed 7,800.

Israelis wearing face mask for fear of the coronavirus are seen in public transport in Jerusalem on March 17, 2020.
(Yossi Zamir/Flash90)

“If we follow all the instructions, we will flatten the curve,” Bar Siman-Tov added. “There will still be those who die, and more who get sick, but we’ll manage to reach everyone,” he said.

He also called on Israelis not to visit their elderly parents or grandparents, who are at greater risk from the virus, and said those who feel unwell must stay home.

He, too urged, Israelis to take the ministry’s social distancing instructions seriously. “This isn’t a vacation given to you by the coronavirus. Our ability to reduce the numbers of sick depends on your behavior. We’d rather you followed our instructions. If necessary, we’ll enforce them,” he warned.

Netanyahu spoke of three new steps the government was taking to stem the spread of the contagion, including improving its ability to track those who might have been exposed to the virus using controversial “digital tracking” measures approved by the cabinet early Tuesday morning.

He said Israel would also significantly ramp up testing for the coronavirus to 3,000 tests per day, and ultimately a possible 5,000 tests a day — a figure that would make Israel number one in the world in tests per capita, he said.

Workers preparing new wards following the spread of the coronavirus at Tel Hashomer hospital on March 17, 2020. (Flash90)

And, he added, Israel’s hospitals had ordered an additional 1,000 respirators as they braced for an influx of patients.

The press conference came just hours after the Health Ministry announced sweeping new restrictions on movement meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The public was instructed not to go out to parks, playgrounds, the beach, pools, libraries, museums or other public places, the ministry said. Exceptions were permissible for taking out children and pets — in accordance with instructions for maintaining hygiene and limiting social contact. Among other measures: suspension of elective surgeries, cancellation of non-urgent dental treatments, and the stipulation that home deliveries be left outside customers’ doors, to avoid meetings between customers and delivery drivers.

Channel 12 news called the new instructions a government bid for a “voluntary lockdown.”

“These aren’t simple instructions. We are asking you to minimize as much as possible leaving your home,” Bar Siman-Tov said Tuesday afternoon.

But, he said, “Anywhere you visit might have a sick person present who could infect you. You yourself may be sick and not know it, and infect other people.”

Source: WHO: Iran Coronavirus Deaths up to Five Times Higher than Official Count

6:22

Source: Iran warns virus could kill ‘millions’ in Islamic Republic

Source: Health Ministry deepens lockdown, issues strict new rules nationwide – DEBKAfile

Source: Coronavirus is a Zionist plot, say Turkish politicians, media, public – The Jerusalem Post

“This virus serves Zionism’s goals of decreasing the number of people and preventing it from increasing,” the head of Turkey’s Refah party said.

By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDS

MARCH 18, 2020 10:41

Tourists wearing protective face masks, due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) concerns, stroll at Sultanahmet square in Istanbul, Turkey, March 17, 2020.

(photo credit: REUTERS/KEMAL ASLAN)

Source: Coronavirus hits terrorists hardest from ISIS to Iran – analysis – The Jerusalem Post

After sanctions and military threats, the coronavirus may be the first factor that can slow Iran’s march toward a nuclear weapon.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB

MARCH 17, 2020 20:43

A member of Iranian Border Guards wears a protective face mask, following an outbreak of the new coronavirus, inside the Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020

(photo credit: REUTERS/ESSAM AL-SUDANI)