Iran's coronavirus cases near 65,000 as downward trend continues

CAIRO - The COVID-19 pandemic in Iran continued its week-long downward trend on Wednesday as less than 2,000 new cases were reported. 

Iran reported 1,997 new COVID-19 cases and 121 more deaths from the infectious disease, bringing the tally of infections to 64,586 and the death toll to 3,993.

Kianush Jahanpur, head of Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, expressed the hope that Iran would be able to control the pace of the virus spread in the following days.

Mohammad Nahavandian, Iranian vice president for economic affairs, said the United States cannot block Iran's request for a loan of 5 billion U.S. dollars from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for fighting the novel coronavirus.

"The IMF policy should be fair in assessing and approving loan requests" for its members, Nahavandian said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif welcomed a recent proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift global sanctions and create green trade corridors as the world grapples with COVID-19 pandemic.