The coronavirus pandemic in Iran is out of control and the Iranian regime has largely failed to do anything about it, from instituting lockdowns to importing vaccines. One of the groups most affected by this are Iranian nurses, who are not immunized, are fighting the virus, and were already understaffed and underpaid before the pandemic.

Last month, the state-run Resalat daily newspaper wrote that nurses are the “definite victims of Covid-19”, suffering in “miserable conditions” at the point of “exhaustion and desperation” with “no strength left”.

The regime has not given any reliable information about the vaccination of Iranian nurses, even though most countries have prioritised healthcare workers in their program. Iran is even charging healthcare workers up to three million rials.

Mohammadreza Sharifi Moghadam, Secretary-General of the Nursing House, said: “It is like sending a soldier to the battlefield without ammunition. In this situation, our soldiers will be defeated. The Minister of Health, the President and other officials must be held accountable!”

He advised that many of the 180,000 nurses have had COVID-19 already and that the regime must not further endanger their health by refusing to vaccinate them en-masse. To be clear, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei donated 200 million euros to the terrorist Quds Force shortly after its leader Qassem Soleimani died but claims not to have enough money to protect medical staff.

Health Minister Saeed Namaki said that the regime’s response has “left the whole world speechless” but Moghadam said that this is only because the country has the highest number of nurses dying from coronavirus as a percentage of the population. Food and Drug Administration spokesman Kianush Jahanpour claimed that Iran had the “lowest Covid-19 infection among the medical staff”, even though he admitted that 100,000 nurses had been infected and that as many as 7,000 are quarantined at any one time.

To make matters worse, the harsh conditions for Iranian nurses, including low pay and a dangerous workplace have led to serial suicides, something that the regime is trying to sweep under the rug, and mass migration to countries where the working conditions are better.

Regarding the suicide issue, the Deputy Minister of Education of the Medical Council Organization said: “This group is one of the underserved and hardworking segments of the medical community, and the residency period is one of the most difficult periods in the life of a doctor in Iran because this group is facing various problems, including education, economy and livelihood at the same time. Very low income, which is less than 40 million rials per month, and usually at this age, some assistants have a family, and they are responsible for their spouses and children.”

All the issues are down to systematic corruption within the regime.