Deputy Commander of the IRGC: Western Countries Spread Ebola

The Deputy Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims that Western countries are spreading various diseases, including Ebola, swine flu, and bird flu, by 'exploiting' scientific achievements. According to Fars News Agency, Hossein Salami stated on Thursday, December 18, that 'Western countries, by exploiting scientific achievements, are engaging in the creation of biological weapons and spreading various diseases, including Ebola, swine flu, and bird flu in the global community.' He did not provide any explanation for his claims. Earlier, the Islamic Republic of Iran's state-run news agency had reported that Ebola was 'engineered by Americans.' This accusation comes at a time when European Union leaders increased their aid for combating Ebola from 600 million euros to 1 billion euros in November. The U.S. Congress also allocated $750 million to fight Ebola, and President Barack Obama requested approximately $6 billion more for this purpose. The World Health Organization reported on December 15 that the number of Ebola victims had risen to 6,841 by December 13, with most of these individuals residing in Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone in West Africa. Doctors at the University of Frankfurt announced on Friday how they managed to save the life of an Ebola patient using an experimental drug and special care. However, there is still no approved drug or treatment for Ebola, and the medications currently used for treating patients are in experimental stages. In his remarks, Salami further stated that 'advanced countries are systematically working to create sadness, fear, concern, and despair globally due to greenhouse gases, the thinning of the ozone layer, the depletion of fresh water, and the production of thousands of nuclear, chemical, and biological bombers.' In another part of his speech, Salami claimed, 'With our supersonic missiles, we can easily target enemy aircraft carriers, and we possess a highly advanced technology that stuns and confounds our enemies.' The Deputy Commander did not elaborate on the details of this so-called 'highly advanced' technology. He emphasized, 'Despite the rings of sanctions and scientific blockade imposed by enemies, we have achieved these accomplishments and can now claim that no country has accessed the knowledge and technology of our missile production, and we are among the best in the world.' In recent months, media outlets close to the IRGC have published numerous reports on Iran's missile capabilities. Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, stated on Tuesday, November 10, that missile production factories in Syria are Iranian-made and that missiles designed in Iran are produced in these factories. Farzad Ismaili, commander of the Army's Air Defense Base, reported on Sunday night, December 7, that a 'missile identification and warning' was issued to an American 'spy and advanced U2 aircraft,' stating that the aircraft left Iranian airspace as soon as it received the warning.