London Mayor Sadiq Khan extolled Iran’s coronavirus response as superior to the United Kingdom’s, giving ammunition to the country’s cover up of its disastrous and ineffective control efforts.
The infamous President Trump hater and “diversity is our strength” peddler remarked “it appears that Tehran is a bit ahead of us in relation to the virus and how to respond to it,” in a recent video call with Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi.
“I congratulate the Iranian officials for this,” he added; the same officials who perpetuate a regime that consistently tramples on freedoms paramount to the West, neglects human rights, and abuses the rule of law.
Tehran has seized on the messaging, seeing it as a propaganda coup.
Why is @SadiqKhan asking Iran for advice? A nation that hijacked multiple British oil vessels less than a year ago? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Tn8VC0graN
— Turning Point UK 🇬🇧 (@TPointUK) April 26, 2020
Iranian state-owned media had a field day with his positive comments, weaponizing them as part of an elaborate cover up of Iran’s deeply flawed coronavirus response.
According to experts, dissidents, and even the country’s own health ministry and parliament, there’s a stark disparity between the reported number of coronavirus deaths and reality. And the Iranian regime had a significant hand in spawning cases: despite warnings of the coronavirus, the regime still organized mass gatherings – compulsory for government employees – in late February. Parliamentary elections later that month presented another hot bed for the virus to easily spread.
And these decisions catalyzed a massive death toll. The country’s burial pits are “so vast they’re visible from space.”
Accordingly, the Iranian regime is on overdrive to suppress their missteps, even arresting thousands of citizens for “spreading rumors about coronavirus.” The state-dominated media sphere plays an integral role in the cover up, and Khan played into their hands.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting corporation-affiliated PressTV touted Kahn’s comments, using “Iran more successful in coronavirus fight than UK” as a headline.
Similarly, his comments gave the Tehran Times license to run the story, “Tehran is ahead of [UK] in coronavirus battle.” And Hamshahri Online also pushed how “Tehran is ahead of London against Corona.”
And this narrative is wildly incorrect: Iran was hesitant to adopt lockdown policies and lifted their scant restrictions in early April while the United Kingdom adopted comprehensive lockdown and social distancing measures that remain in effect and accomplished unprecedented levels of testing with considerably more transparency.
Meanwhile, Khan is more than eager to attack President Trump, calling him a “disgrace” for using the term “Chinese virus.” He’s willing to help prop up an authoritarian, Islamic theocracy and trigger happy to degrade the US and UK’s “special relationship” in the name of political correctness and Trump Derangement Syndrome.
