Iran Army Holding Biological Defense Exercise

After Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei ordered Iran’s Armed Forces to set up a military medical base to contain the spread of COVID-19, Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi chaired an extraordinary meeting of the Army units on Saturday to coordinate efforts in the battle with the contagious disease.

In the meeting, held via video conference, the senior commander unveiled plans for a nationwide “biological defense war game” starting Sunday, saying the exercise will be staged under command of the Army’s Biodefense Base and under supervision of Deputy Chief of Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari.

The Army Ground Force will be taking the lead in the war game, whose field commander will be Brigadier General Kiumars Heidari, the Army chief announced.

Moreover, the top general assigned the Army Air Defense Department, the Air Force, and the Navy to establish bases in Arak, Bushehr, Bandar Abbas, Chabahr and Konarak as part of an inclusive plan to counter the COVID-19 outbreak, IFP reported.

Major General Mousavi also issued an emergency order to set up a host of medical centers across the country to help tackle the coronavirus epidemic, saying the Army will be establishing new health centers in 300 neighborhoods and areas across Iran to detect the coronavirus cases and prevent the spread of the disease.

As soon as the Coronavirus Battle National Headquarters defines the quotas and the locations, the Army will add 4,000 more hospital beds and allocate convalescent homes to the coronavirus patients, the Army chief said.

On Thursday, Ayatollah Khamenei cited clues to a possible “biological attack” on Iran in the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, ordering the Armed Forces to set up a “health and medical base” to organize the efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

The Leader assigned the Armed Forces to work on the necessary methods to prevent a further spread of coronavirus, in addition to the other activities such as treatment of patients and establishment of medical centers like field hospitals and convalescent homes.

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