TEHRAN

Iran confirmed 453 new coronavirus-related fatalities on Tuesday, taking the nationwide death toll to 39,202, according to the country's Health Ministry.

Some 10,339 more people tested positive for the virus over the past 24 hours, pushing the overall count up to 703,288, ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.

She added that 530,694 patients have recovered so far, while 5,584 remain in critical condition.

Lari warned that all of Iran’s 31 provinces are currently recorded as red zones with high risk of coronavirus transmission.

Iran is struggling to contain the pandemic since February, when the first cases were confirmed in the city of Qom.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara.