While both Israel and Iran are embarked on a national war against the virus, neither country appears to be ready to coordinate efforts.
Iranian women wear protective masks to prevent contracting coronavirus, as they walk in the street in Tehran, Iran February 25, 2020.
(photo credit: NAZANIN TABATABAEE/WANA VIA REUTERS)
Israel is at war with an invisible enemy, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei has called for medical professionals on the frontline of the battle to be seen as “martyrs” in the struggle against coronavirus. Both Israel and Iran, rarely on the same side of issues, agree that the battle against the virus is akin to a national war.
In Iran, the war is being waged very differently than in Israel. Authorities first downplayed the virus threat in February and let it spread from shrines in Qom to Tehran, where it affected many members of parliament and leaders of the country. Now Iran is taking the threat more seriously as more than 17,000 are infected and 1,100 are dead. “The experience we gain combating COVID-19 and the people’s sacrifices and activities that benefit the general public, are achievements that turn tragedies and threats into blessings and opportunities,” Khamenei said on March 16.
Iran now views the virus as a form of biological warfare and has sent the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the army out to fight it. This means sometimes clearing streets, but often the government has not sought to lock down the country. Instead, schools have been closed and some events cancelled. Some shrines were shuttered, despite protests by the clerics. The armed forces are establishing medicalcenters and working to stop the spread of the disease.
In Israel, the national struggle has seen the use of digital technology usually reserved for fighting terror, put into service of tracking those who had the virus and helping the Health Ministry decide who to quarantine. Israel took the virus seriously early on in February and sought to stop travel from affected countries. “We must do everything, as a government and as citizens, to not become infected and not to infect others,” Netanyahu said on March 15. The government has sought to isolate the virus and not the whole country, but with the number of those infected climbing to more than 400 on Wednesday, it appears likely a lockdown is coming.
As in Iran, the military plays a significant role in Israel. The Defense Ministry and Home Front Command launched a hotel aimed to host coronaviruspatients on March 17. The hotel has separated situation rooms to enable surveillance and the police will aid in enforcing entry to the facility, the IDF says.
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