- Hossein Sheikholeslam, an Iranian diplomat and former ambassador to Syria, died Thursday from a coronavirus infection, according to state news agency Fars.
- Sheikholeslam's death comes amid reports that 8% of Iran's parliament has been infected.
- Iran has barred government officials from traveling, and parliament has been suspended indefinitely.
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Another senior Iranian politician has died of the coronavirus, amid reports that 8% of the country's parliament has been infected.
Hossein Sheikholeslam, a diplomat and former ambassador to Syria, died Thursday, according to state news agency Fars. Sheikholeslam worked as an adviser to Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.
Sheikholeslam studied at the University of California at Berkeley before the Iranian revolution and later interrogated US Embassy staff members during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979.
Eight percent of Iran's parliament has been infected with the disease, including the deputy health minister and one of the vice presidents, according to CNN. Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a senior adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died in a hospital on Monday, a state-affiliated media organization said.
Tehran subsequently barred government officials from traveling, and parliament has been suspended indefinitely.
As of Thursday, roughly 3,500 Iranians have been infected and 107 have died from the disease, according to government officials, but the true totals are suspected to be higher.
Iran, along with China, is believed to be discounting the rate of deaths and infections as it struggles to deal with the health crisis. Iran and Italy have the highest death tolls outside of China, where over 3,000 people are dead from the disease.
Iran has taken several measures to address growing concerns about coronavirus, including temporarily releasing 54,000 prisoners from crowded jails.
The US State Department has offered assistance to Iran, but the country did not appear to be receptive.
"We have made offers to the Islamic Republic of Iran to help," Secretary of state Mike Pompeo told lawmakers last week. "And we've made it clear to others around the world and in the region that assistance, humanitarian assistance to push back against the coronavirus in Iran is something the United States of America fully supports."
Iran responded to the aid by saying it would "neither count on such help nor are we ready to accept verbal help," according to NBC News correspondent Ali Arouzi.