"12 COVID-19 deaths had occurred in Iran, out of a total of 61 confirmed infections. There are 917 suspected cases," he said.

He stated that a smear campaign was launched against Iran about through coronavirus outbreak, adding the some countries in region didn’t disclose coronavirus cases.

The first confirmed death from coronavirus was a 61-year-old man on 9 January 2020 who was first admitted to a Wuhan hospital on 27 December 2019. (ILKHA)