TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran’s parliament speaker has contracted the new coronavirus, the country's highest-ranking government figure yet to catch the disease, while in Israel, several top officials entered quarantine when the health minister tested positive on Thursday.
Larijani, a former Revolutionary Guard commander who enjoys close relations to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has led Iran's legislative body since 2008. Over the years he has held various positions in the top ranks of Iran's government, including head of state television, minister of culture and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, which helps set foreign and defense policy. A number of his family members also hold top government positions.
In a sign of how the virus risks fueling regional tensions, Yehiya Sinwar, a leader of Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that rules the Gaza Strip, warned Israel that it would respond with force in case of ventilator or food shortages. In war-torn Syria, the government extended the closures of mosques until April 16, nearly a week before the start of the holy month of Ramadan. It also expanded curfew times over the weekend and indefinitely extended a ban on visits to prisons, citing concerns over the spread of the virus.
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