Hossein Sheikholeslam was hospitalised earlier after he tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), according to media reports. The Iranian diplomat, former adviser to the foreign minister and deputy head of the International Assembly of Islamic Religions Approximation, has died, Tasnim News reported on Thursday.
حسین شیخ الاسلام ، دیپلمات و معاونت امور بینالملل مجمع جهانی تقریب مذاهب اسلامی بر اثر ابتلا به #کرونا درگذشت pic.twitter.com/ULD9IfAjHM
— خبرگزاری تسنیم 🇮🇷 (@Tasnimnews_Fa) March 5, 2020
Sheikholeslam passed away at Tehran's Masih Daneshvari Hospital, according to Fars News Agency.
Iran remains one of the contries most affected by the new coronavirus outside China, where the new disease outbreak was first registered last December. The current death toll from coronavirus in Iran stands at 107, with over 3,500 people infected. Schools and universities have been closed in the country till 20 March due to the outbreak.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that the virus has affected almost every region in the country.
