According to an investigation conducted by BBC Persia, the number of COVID-19 deaths in Iran is nearly triple what the government has been reporting. The government’s records state that 42,000 people have died with COVID-19 symptoms as of July 20, whereas the health ministry only reported 14,405 deaths.
The number of infections within the country is also almost double official figures according to the findings of the investigation. Iran has claimed that the country’s infections total 278,827, however, the investigation found that there were roughly 451,000 active Coronavirus cases. Iran has suffered an increase in total number of cases over the past few weeks. Iran recorded its first casualty of the deadly virus on January 22, however, the government claimed that the first COVID-19 death occurred over a month later.