Iran's religious assembly leader dies from coronavirus

A 78-year-old member of Iran's clerical body that chooses the country's supreme leader has died from the infection caused by the new coronavirus, the state media said.

Ayatollah Hashem Bathayi Golpayegani, died two days after testing positive for the new coronavirus and being hospitalised, state news agency IRNA reported on Monday.

Golpayegani represented Tehran in the assembly of experts, an 88-strong body of Muslim scholars that appoints and monitors Iran's supreme leader.

At least 12 Iranian politicians and officials, both sitting and former, have now died of the illness, and 13 more have been infected and are either in quarantine or being treated.

The country has been scrambling to contain the rapid spread of coronavirus which so far has infected some 14,000 people and killed 853 - 129 of whom over the past 24 hours, according to official figures cited by Al Jazeera.

Health ministry figures show while 55 per cent of fatalities were in their 60s, some 15 per cent were younger than 40.

In addition, the Middle East country has also been battling the rapidly spreading killer bug as a result of the crippling sanctions imposed by the Trump administration after the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal.

However, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have extended humanitarian aid to Iran which is facing a severe shortage of medical supplies due to the stringent measures.

Earlier this month, Tehran had rejected an offer of aid extended by the Trump government to fight the infection caused by the killer bug that has reached every continent on the globe, except Antarctica, and more than 6000 people worldwide.

Countries across the Middle East have imposed sweeping travel restrictions, cancelled public events and called on non-essential businesses to close for the coming weeks.