News Digest: Week of October 5

October 5

Diplomacy: Iran developed a "specific framework" to deescalate the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the foreign ministry announced. Tehran said it was talking to both sides "as well as regional states and neighbors."

Health: Almost all provinces, 26 out of 31, were placed on COVID-19 red alert, Iran's health ministry said.

Intelligence: A U.S. district court ordered Iran to pay $1.4 billion to the family of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran in 2007. 

 

October 6

Aviation: All flights to Turkey were suspended until November 1, Iran's civil aviation authority announced.

Health: Iran recorded an all-time high of new COVID-19 cases. Health Ministry spokesperson Sima-Sadat Lari said that 4,151 new case were identified within a 24-hour period. The government mandated mask wearing in Tehran starting on October 10 and threatened penalties against violators.  

 

October 7

Diplomacy: President Hassan Rouhani condemned spillover from fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan apologized for stray shells that landed on Iranian soil. 

Health: The official daily death toll hit an all-time high at 239 new fatalities, the health ministry reported

Media: State-run IRNA announced it would hold a joint webinar with Russia's Sputnik "to exchange experiences in the face of the pandemic outbreak."