Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani shrugged off US claims against Iran and China and said the Washington government should be answerable to the public opinion about the US’ role in the spread of the coronavirus.

It is typical of the US to play blame games to avoid accountability, Shamkhani said on his Twitter account on Wednesday.

“Instead of levelling false accusations against China and Iran, the officials of the US should respond to international demands (for explanation) about its role in creating and spreading the coronavirus and the continuation of its crimes against the Iranian people by keeping in place the economic sanctions,” he wrote.

First detected in Wuhan city in central China in December, the coronavirus has spread to more than 140 countries.

More than 182,000 have been infected globally, according to the WHO. Of those, about 80,000 have recovered.

In Iran, medical staffs in all 31 provinces have been working tirelessly over the past weeks to contain the virus.

The spokesman for the Iranian Health Ministry said on Tuesday that since the outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country, 988 people have lost their lives and 5,389 others have completely recovered from the infectious disease.

Kianoush Jahanpour said that since Monday noon, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country had increased by 1,178, reaching 16,169.

Source: Mehr News Agency