Iranian state-run media outlets write that the regime’s attempts to downplay the coronavirus outbreak last February, its poor management of the pandemic ever since, and the banning of vaccines approved by the World Health Organization form an uprising waiting to happen.

The Jahan-e Sanat wrote Tuesday, March 16, 2021: “Since February 2020, there were evident contradictions in remarks made by government officials. Some were dismissing it as a joke and denied it had entered the country. And this resulted in a very slow response and the fast spread of the virus and an increase in the number of deaths… In the first few months, Iran had the highest casualty rate after Wuhan… The reason was that while the entire world closed their borders with China, the Islamic Republic expanded its transactions and commutes. During this period, a lot of people died of coronavirus and the country’s economy was badly hurt.”

They went on to say that many countries have imposed lockdowns, closed shops, and made non-essential workers stay home. Iranians have been forced to maintain non-essential contact in order to put food on the table, but 80% of the country are in poverty, with some suffering from mental health problems and even dying from suicide as a result.

Jahan-e Sanat wrote: “The government’s inconsistent behavior toward the people can cause unpredictable crises. Today, the people are worried about the future of the society and their lives because the society is on the verge of great crises… If these crises pile up on each other and the government does not hear out the voices of protesters, the people’s patients will wear thin… Security forces can only counter protests to some extent… The country’s current situation is on the cusp of a serious change.”

Meanwhile, the Donya-ye Eghtesad newspaper, wrote that the Iranian people have distrusted Iranian officials on the pandemic since the start, with the people saying that the virus was in the country well before the regime admitted it. The paper advised that people also distrust the regime’s vaccination policy because many government-imported drugs are already “sold in the black market at exorbitant prices”, which could well happen with the vaccine when its finally rolled out en-masse.

The Resalat daily warned that the people may be at breaking point because of the coronavirus outbreak and other problems already existing in the country, like “inequality, discrimination, tyranny, financial corruption of people who are close to government officials, and the deep economic divide”.