TEHRAN – Iran's president on Sunday lashed out at criticism of its lagging response to the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East as a “political war,” saying he had to weigh protecting the economy while tackling the pandemic.
Hassan Rouhani said the government had to consider the effect of mass quarantine efforts on Iran's beleaguered economy, which is under heavy U.S.
sanctions. It's a dilemma playing out across the globe, as leaders struggle to strike a balance between containing the pandemic and preventing their economies from crashing. “Health is a principle for us, but the production and security of society is also a principle for us," Rouhani said at a Cabinet meeting. “We must put these principles together to reach a final