Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran Reports Its First Case of Omicron Coronavirus Variant
DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran has confirmed its first case of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the health ministry said on Sunday, while authorities urged Iranians to get their booster doses in the Middle East’s worst-hit country.
Deputy Health Minister Kamal Heidari told state TV that the infected person was a middle-age Iranian man who recently returned to Iran from the United Arab Emirates.
“The necessary measures were taken to quarantine this person who lives in Tehran and those who were in contact with him,” Heidari said. “This is the first case of Omicron (coronavirus) variant that has been identified in Iran.”
Coronavirus deaths have reached 131,083, the health ministry said, while infected cases rose by 1,968 in the past 24 hours to 6,170,979 in the Islamic Republic.
More than 50 million of Iran’s population of approximately 85 million have received two doses of coronavirus vaccine.
Read more on the original:


Iran Has Friends, but Where Are They Now?
US submarine sinks Iranian warship with torpedo, as Pentagon says it will strike ‘deeper into Iran’
Israel launches new strikes on Iran as US identifies first American soldiers killed in conflict
Iran war fallout: Shock-hit economy rattles policymakers
War with Iran expands across region; U.S. expects more casualties
Iranian president says new leadership council ‘has begun its work’ after death of supreme leader