More than 700 people have died in Iran after ingesting toxic methanol, erroneously thinking it can cure the new coronavirus.
Alcohol poisoning has seen a 10-fold increase in Iran in the past year, according to a government report released earlier in April, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Iranian health ministry spokesman, Kianoush Jahanpour, said 5,011 people had been poisoned from methanol alcohol, adding that some 90 people have lost their eyesight or are suffering eye damage from the alcohol poisoning. Iran is facing the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Middle East with 5,806 deaths and more than 91,000 confirmed cases.
This will no doubt be ultimately blamed on the USA, rather than ignorance amongst Iranians themselves. But that's okay; we're kind of used to it. At least we won't have to send B-52s over there; antifreeze is far less expensive.