Thus far, the Islamic Republic has been the Middle Eastern country hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus seems to have been carried there directly from China by Iran’s Mahan Air, which, although nominally private, is deeply intertwined with the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Moreover, writes Michael Segall, the airline has likely spread the disease to other countries while abetting the ayatollahs’ military ambitions:
On January 31, Iran officially suspended all flights to and from China in order to slow down the spread of the disease. Mahan Air, however, continued flying to and from China, seemingly ignoring the government’s instructions as well as harsh criticism in the local media.
The airline’s involvement in terror and helping to promote the regional and international activity of the Quds Force—the special-operations, terrorism, and subversion arm of the IRGC—were already exposed a decade ago. At that time Mahan Air was blacklisted several times by the U.S. Treasury Department for helping the Quds Force ferry IRGC fighters and advisers, foreign fighters, weapons, and logistical assistance to the different arenas in which Iran meddles, particularly Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, while also helping to further Iran’s plans to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Mahan Air’s continued flights to China after the flight ban and the Iranian government’s own prohibition on flights were what caused the spread of the coronavirus to several Middle Eastern countries to which the airline kept flying as well. [From] the end of January to mid-March, Mahan Air operated hundreds of flights between Iran and Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Syria—countries with a considerable IRGC presence and activity.
The first coronavirus cases in Syria and in Lebanon arrived on Mahan Air flights. Some of the passengers were Shiite pilgrims from Lebanon and Syria who had visited the holy Iranian city of Qom, which was one of the first and main centers of infection, and some were Hizballah and IRGC fighters. . . . In Lebanon the first coronavirus case was reported on February 21. It was a female pilgrim who had returned on Mahan Air’s flight W51152 from a pilgrimage to Qom.
Read more on Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs: https://jcpa.org/bbc-irgc-affiliated-mahan-air-is-to-blame-for-spreading-the-coronavirus-in-the-middle-east/