THE AYATOLLAHS’ EPIDEMIC: The Iranian government denied their country faced an epidemic and now infected Iranians have spread COVID-19 to other countries.

Senior leaders themselves may be responsible for spreading the disease. Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi and vice president for Women and Family Affairs Masoumeh Ebtekar have COVID-19. An Iranian website reported Ebtekar met with President Hassan Rouhani and other ministers shortly before testing positive. One report says 23 members of parliament have the virus.

The Chinese Communist dictatorship’s lack of transparency delayed China’s response to the epidemic. Iran’s ayatollah despots repeated that mistake.

It’s my latest Creators Syndicate column (bumped).