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'Virus at Iran's Gates': How Tehran Failed to Stop

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'Virus at Iran's Gates': How Tehran Failed to Stop Page 2 Wednesday, March 18, 2020 Wednesday, March 18, 2020 Page 19 Daily Court Review Daily Court Review Talking Points TalkingTalking PointsPoints A weekly section to spur conversation 'VIRUS AT IRAN'S GATES': HOW TEHRAN FAILED TO STOP OUTBREAK MILITARY FACES LIMITATIONS IN RESPONDING TO VIRUS OUTBREAK DAILY COURT REVIEW By Jon Gambrell | The Associated Press By Robert Burns & Lolita C. Baldor | The Associated Press Talking Points available at: Appearing before the cameras coughing and sweating profusely, ers and journalists face restrictions, many things about the out- want. But people already were dying and fear was spreading. The Pentagon is already helping combat the ment assistance to the coronavirus crisis "would The Pentagon also has two hospital ships, the man leading Iran's response to the new coronavirus out- break remain unknown. Chief among them is who was "patient SHRINES AND HAZMAT SUITS coronavirus outbreak in the United States and be secondary to our primary mission to defend the USNS Comfort and the USNS Mercy. Rice University break promised it was of no danger to his country. zero" — the person who was first infected with the coronavirus Qom long has been the stronghold of Iran's Shiite clergy. A is considering ways to do more. the United States. A range of planning efforts They can be equipped to perform surgeries and 6100 Main Street "Quarantines belong to the Stone Age," Iraj Harirchi insisted. in the nation, and where. focal point of devotion is the golden-domed shrine of Fatima But the military faces limits. Its health care cover scenarios which include aiding in the provide other medical services, but the medical Houston, Texas 77005 A day later, he himself would be in quarantine from the Public comments point to the city of Qom, 125 kilometers Masumeh, a Shiite saint. Crowds pray there 24 hours a day, system is geared more toward handling combat establishment of medical treatment sites, pro- professionals who would be called on to staff 713-348-0000 virus. (80 miles) southwest of Tehran, on the country's windswept seven days a week, touching and kissing the shrine. casualties than infectious diseases. And there viding shelter for displaced persons, assisting the ships are currently performing those roles Harirchi's story is a microcosm of what has happened in Iran central desert plateau. How the virus arrived there remains in That raises the risks for visitors. In Saudi Arabia, authorities are logistical and legal concerns about expand- with food transportation, and numerous other at domestic military hospitals and clinics or at South Texas College of Law amid the coronavirus pandemic. Roughly nine out of 10 cases question. have closed off access to the holiest sites in Islam over concerns ing the military's role in civilian affairs, such as logistical efforts." private medical facilities. 1303 San Jacinto Street in the Middle East come from the Islamic Republic, which has Authorities suggested that perhaps an Iranian businessman about the virus. Churches, mosques, temples and shrines tasking it with enforcing quarantines. Defense WHAT THE MILITARY IS CONSIDER- IN AN EXTREME EMERGENCY Houston, Texas 77002 reported over 16,000 people infected and at least 988 deaths returned from China with the virus. Qom is home to major Shi- around the world have been closed or subject to stringent dis- officials also want to be careful not to do any- ING The Defense Department has a detailed pan- 713-659-8040 amid fears that cases may still be underreported. While most ite seminaries that draw Chinese students. It also is along a $2.7 infecting campaigns. thing to weaken its ability to defend the nation. There are many ways the military could demic response plan that lays out the myriad of people who are infected recover, the virus spreads rapidly and billion high-speed train route that a Chinese company is build- But in Qom and elsewhere in Iran, the shrines stayed A look at the military's role in the crisis: assist in the COVID-19 crisis, but few decisions things the military can do if requested, includ- Texas Southern Universtiy can kill the elderly and those with breathing problems or other ing, a sign of China's outreach to Tehran amid crushing U.S. open despite civilian health authorities demanding they close. WHAT THE MILITARY IS DOING have been made. Air Force Brig Gen. Paul ing a last-resort role in helping to impose quar- 3100 Cleburne Street underlying illnesses. sanctions. China is also constructing a solar power plant there. Mohammad Saidi, who oversees the Fatima Masumeh shrine, At the request of the Department of Health Friedrichs, the top doctor for the Joint Chiefs antines and border restrictions. Houston, Texas 77004 Days of denials gave the virus time to spread in Iran as the From late January, worries could be seen on the front page insinuated that closing shrines was part of a plot against Shiites and Human Services, the Pentagon has made of Staff, told reporters Monday that defense The military could be called on to help 713-313-7011 country marked the 41st anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolu- of the pro-reform newspaper Aftab-e Yazd. by President Donald Trump. housing available at four military bases for officials are trying to identify "what's within the establish "mass casualty" treatment sites, pro- tion with mass demonstrations and then held a parliamentary "Mysterious virus at Iran's gates," its banner headline warned "Defeating Qom is the dream of treacherous Trump and his some passengers taken from the Grand Prin- realm of the possible," while also spelling out vide shelter for displaced persons, and help University of Houston election in which authorities desperately sought to boost turn- as China began a lockdown to control the outbreak. domestic mercenaries, but this dream will not be realized even cess cruise ship, which was hit with a cluster what the trade-offs for that would be. provide postal, power, water and sewer services, 4800 Calhoun Road out. Now, state television warns the virus could kill "millions" Yet travel between China and Iran continued. in their grave," Saidi said on Feb. 22. of coronavirus cases. It also has made available For example, Friedrichs said, if large num- food deliveries and mortuary tasks. Troops also Houston, Texas 77004 as its supreme leader issued a religious order Tuesday banning The first two coronavirus cases were reported Feb. 19, with That decision likely gave the virus time to spread. Police later housing at other bases for people entering the bers of National Guard members were mobi- could provide logistics, communications and 832-531-6300 "unnecessary travel." the announcement that both died in Qom. Since it can take arrested those who posted online video of themselves licking U.S. at certain civilian airports and needing lized for medical assistance, they would be other support for law enforcement and the Although Iran has one of the Mideast's best medical services, up to two weeks to show symptoms, they could have gotten it and kissing shrines. monitoring. taken away from their civilian jobs, which National Guard. Drafted and overhauled sev- University of Houston - Downtown its hospitals appear to be overwhelmed and authorities have in early February. "The city's religious epithet — 'the nest of the Prophet and At those bases, the people being given hous- in some cases are in health services already eral times in recent years, the military's plan is One Main Street asked for 172 million masks from abroad. It also has asked the Iranian authorities haven't offered any details. Iran analysts his family' — was intended to reassure believers worldwide that ing are cared for by civilian agencies, not the engaged in fighting COVID-19. closely guarded and officials decline to discuss Houston, Texas 77002 International Monetary Fund for $5 billion, the first such loan suggest it might be because the country marked the 41st anni- it was insulated against epidemics and other disasters," wrote military. The military could deploy mobile hospitals, details publicly. 713-221-8000 for Iran since 1962. versary of the Islamic Revolution during that period. Mehdi Khalaji, a Qom-trained Shiite theologian who is an Also, Army scientists are researching and but they generally are designed to deal with Officials, however, say that there is a broad The Islamic Republic has an opportunity to limit the virus Iran also held parliamentary elections Feb. 21. The govern- analyst at the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy. "If testing vaccines for the coronavirus, in coordi- combat casualties, not infectious disease. assumption that local law enforcement, border University of Houston Law Center with the approach of the Persian New Year, Nowruz. The rare ment desperately wanted a large turnout to boost its legitimacy early reports about the spread of the coronavirus prove correct, nation with civilian agencies. The military also operates 36 fixed hospitals control officers and the National Guard under 100 Law Center religious decree by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after shooting down a Ukrainian passenger jet, killing all 176 Qom's status as the ideological capital of the Islamic Revolu- The most extensive role for the military inside the United States; they could be used for the governors' command would be the first Houston, Texas 77204 curtailing travel in the country could help, but it came days people on board. Days earlier, a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad tion helped make it the pathogen's transmitting center to the thus far is by the National Guard, which is the COVID-19 emergency, but in most cases line of defense to stem the spread of any virus 713-743-2100 after Iraq and Lebanon, both allies of Iran, restricted move- killed top Revolutionary Guard Gen.
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