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Irans deputy health ministerwho on Monday denied accusations that the government was hiding the true extent of the coronavirus outbreak in the countryhas reportedly tested positive for the sickness. Its just one day since Minister Iraj Harirchi publicly denied reports that the virus had killed 50 people in the city of Qom, saying that if even a quarter of that number had lost their lives to the virus then he would resign. Irans health ministry confirmed Tuesday that Harirchi had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and has now been placed in quarantine. Meanwhile, hundreds of guests have been told not to leave a Spanish hotel after a visiting Italian doctor tested positive for coronavirus. The H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel on Tenerife, one of Spains Canary Islands, informed guests Tuesday morning that they had to stay in their rooms until further notice.

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Iran Health Minister Who Played Down Coronavirus Threat Tests Positive for It - The Daily Beast

Coronavirus clusters outside of China have prompted US officials to issue travel warnings for Italy and Iran after each country reported a spike in cases.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised the threat to level-one status Sunday night for both countries, warning travelers to practice usual precautions.

The travel advisory noted that multiple instances of the coronavirus spreading within each country had been confirmed.

This new coronavirus has caused severe disease and death in patients who developed pneumonia, the advisories said. Risk factors for severe illness are not yet clear, although older adults and those with chronic medical conditions may be at higher risk for severe illness.

Italy has reported 219 people who have tested positive for the coronavirus and five who have died. Meanwhile, Irans government has said 12 people died from the virus, rejecting earlier reports that the death toll there had hit 50.

Visitors to the coronavirus-stricken destinations are encouraged to avoid contact with sick people and clean their hands often by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

Anyone who visits either country and experiences symptoms of the virus such as a fever, cough or difficulty breathing is urged to seek medical care, as well as to avoid contact with others, officials said.

The new advisories come as Italy has placed a dozen towns under quarantine in the wake of the coronavirus.

The country has effectively sealed off a dozen northern towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions, two hotspots of the outbreak. Around 50,000 people are prohibited from leaving the towns for the next two weeks without permission.

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Travel advisories for Italy and Iran issued amid coronavirus outbreak - New York Post

Israel has identified initial signs that Iran is recalculating its trajectory in Syria, giving the Jewish state an opportunity to go from the defensive to the offensive, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday.I can announce that we are identifying initial signs of loosening and recalculation by Iran regarding its plans in Syria, Bennett said at the New Tech conference. We just started and we will increase. We will go from a defensive concept to an offensive concept weakening, tiring and erasing the octopuss head by weakening its tentacles.For us, Syria is not only a threat but also an opportunity, he said. They send forces there and try to exhaust us, but we can turn the downside into an advantage. We have intelligence and operational superiority, and we are telling Iran clearly: Get out of Syria. You have nothing to look for there.Israel has warned repeatedly about Irans nuclear ambitions as well as its aspirations of regional hegemony. Jerusalem has admitted to hundreds of air strikes as part of its war-between-wars campaign to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the entrenchment of its forces in Syria, where they could easily act against the Jewish state.Bennett also referred to ongoing demonstrations taking place across Iran by citizens who are suffering from the economic sanctions placed on the Islamic Republic by the United States.The Iranian people are telling the Ayatollahs: stop wasting our money and shedding our blood in [needless] adventures. The Iranian people have had enough, he said, adding that we in Israel are corresponding with this message. The ground is burning in Iran, the embers are not extinguished, they are glowing.Last week, the IDF released more details of its new Momentum multi-year plan. One of the top priorities of Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavis plan, which aims to obtain a considerable military advantage over Israels foes, is to establish a new Iran Command.That same day Bennett said that Israel is engaged in a continuous campaign to weaken Iran and to remove its forces from Syria.We are constantly working to raise the stakes for Iran until we reach our ultimate goal: removing them from Syria. We will continue to prevent an Iranian presence on our northern border, Bennett said during a memorial ceremony at Kibbutz Dafna in the Galilee.For generations, we have been constantly fighting the arms of the Iranian octopus in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, and we have not focused enough on the weakening of Iran itself, Bennett said, adding that there has now been a change in Israels way of thinking.We are in a continuous campaign to weaken the Iranian octopus. On the economic level, political, intelligence, military, and others,he explained. When [an] octopuss arms beat you, dont fight back with only your arms, but strangle the head. And so it is with Iran.The new Iran Command will be led by a major general and will be dedicated to and focused on analyzing threats posed by the Islamic Republic and planning Israels campaign against it.The plan will bolster the IDFs attack capabilities, including improved technological means for IAF jets to destroy enemy targets, increasing the militarys intelligence superiority; expanding its intelligence gathering on the Islamic Republic, including by satellites; and bolstering Israels cyber capabilities, both defensive and offensive.

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Bennett: We identified signs that Iran is recalculating plans in Syria - The Jerusalem Post

NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk-based Sailors have been at the forefront of seizing illegal weapons likely made by Iran.

The most recent bust involved the USS Normandy, a cruiser homeported at Naval Station Norfolk.

While conducting maritime security operations in the U.S. Central Command earlier this month, Sailors boarded a dhow, finding a large cache of what are believed to be Iranian-made weapons.

Among the weapons seized: 150 anti-tank guided missiles, three surface-to-air missiles, and other weapons parts.

"The boarding team seized the weapons and brought them aboard the USS Normandy for subsequent inspections. The weapons have since been made available for inspections by international partners and organizations," Captain William Urban, US Central Command Spokesman, told reporters during a Pentagon briefing.

The Navy says many of the weapons are similar to another cache seized by the USS Forrest Sherman in the Arabian Sea on November 25th of last year.

The USS Forrest Sherman is also homeported at Naval Station Norfolk.

In that case, the weapons were determined to have originated in Iran and were destined for the Houthis in Yemen, which violates UN Security Council Resolutions prohibiting the "direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer" of weapons to the Houthis.

International partner nations and organizations have once again been invited to inspect the weapons cache seized by the USS Normandy this month.

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Dozens of Iranian weapons seized by Norfolk Sailors in recent months - wtkr.com

Tucked in the northwest corner of Iran, Lake Urmia was once the second-largest saltwater lake in the world. At its peak, the lake once covered a surface area of 5,000 square kilometers (2,000 square miles), reports Iran's Radio Farda. Its waters attracted migratory birds including flamingos, pelicans, ducks and egrets, according to The Guardian. Tourists came for its turquoise waters, boats and believed therapeutic properties.

But then the lake started to dry out. Over the past 30 years, Lake Urmia has been getting smaller. At one point its size had been reduced by as much as 80%.

Researchers blame a prolonged drought and hot summer temperatures, as well as overuse of water, new dams and irrigation projects that divert water away from the lake, points out NPR.

As the lake has shrunk, most of the birds and tourists have left. Typically, the waters are full of algae, bacteria and brine shrimp that thrive in the highly saline conditions. The water in Lake Urmia is now eight times as salty as the ocean, according to National Geographic, causing these organisms to flourish and turning the once-blue waters a pinkish-red.

Beached boats lie stranded in the muck and remnants of piers stand in the shallow waters that lead nowhere. Salt storms have harmed local villages and farmers, forcing many people to relocate.

"Just 10 years ago, waves splashed against the walls of the villages here, but now the turquoise water has been replaced by an almost endless desert," wrote German photographer Maximillian Mann, describing his Lake Urmia photos in the 2020 Sony World Photography Awards.

"Salt, carried on the wind, covers nearby fields, causing crops to dry up. Robbed of their livelihood, the local population is fleeing to the surrounding towns, and the villages around the lake are dying out."

Remnants of a dilapidated dock on Lake Urmia after 2019 torrential rains have boosted hopes for the lake's survival. (Photo: Solmaz Daryani [CC BY-SA 4.0]/Wikimedia Commons)

But there is some good news.

Torrential rains in the spring of 2019 helped the lake regain water level. According to NASA, the lake surface area reached roughly 3,000 square kilometers (1,200 square miles), nearly doubling its volume from just a year earlier.

Other factors contributing to the revival include engineering to help unblock and desilt feeder rivers, the deliberate release of water from dams in the surrounding hills and better water management, particularly among farmers, Erik Solheim, Head of United Nations Environment, and Gary Lewis, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Iran, write in Medium.

Although the water isn't deep, the rising levels are starting to make a difference.

"It was an emotional experience," Solheim and Lewis write. "Right before us was proof that the environmental problems we create can be fixed."

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Why Iran's Lake Urmia disappeared and may be coming back - Mother Nature Network