Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday the U.S. has offered to help Iran combat the coronavirus, as the Islamic republic contends with more than 3,500 cases.
“We hope that the government of Iran will heed our offers of humanitarian assistance and medical supplies,” Mr. Pompeo said at a press conference.
Mr. Pompeo said he hopes Tehran “heeds” their offer of humanitarian aid and supplies.
The Trump administration, and especially Mr. Pompeo, have taken a hard line on Iran but the epidemic is viewed as a global crisis and it’s scrambling rivalries.
In January, the U.S. pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance for China, where the virus broke out, and sent 17 tons of aid to the hardest-hit parts of the country.
At the same time, Mr. Trump is hardening America’s borders to keep the virus from entering via hard-hit countries.
Foreign nationals who’ve traveled within China or Iran in the past 14 days cannot enter the U.S., while passengers from South Korea and Italy must be screened for health problems before and after they fly to the U.S.
The measures on Iran effectively expand an existing ban on visitors from the Islamic republic to foreign nationals who pass through the country and then attempt to travel to the U.S.
Even as Mr. Pompeo discussed aid to Iran and China, he spoke about sources of friction with those nations, including Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and Mr. Trump’s crackdown on China’s state-backed media outlets in the U.S.
The coronavirus was discovered in Hubei Province, China, in December. It causes an illness that is mild in many people but can cause respiratory distress, organ failure and death, especially in older persons or those with preexisting medical conditions.
The CDC is tracking more than 100 infections in the U.S.
Though 48 of the cases are in patients who were repatriated from China and Japan, more and more states are reporting cases with no known origin, raising fears of spread within communities.
Eleven people have died, including 10 in Washington state and one in California.
While the rate of new cases in China has dropped dramatically, the worst of the outbreak has pivoted elsewhere. Beyond Iran, South Korea’s case count surged in recent weeks to more than 5,600 cases and Italy is grappling with over 3,000.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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