TEHRAN: Iran's health ministry on Thursday said 117 new deaths from the novel coronavirus took the total to 4,110 in one of the countries worst hit by the pandemic.
But ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said the latest figures showed there was a downward trend in the number of new coronavirus infections.
"Today we are clearly seeing a decline in the number of new cases," Jahanpour said in a televised news conference.
"We have identified 1,634 new cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 66,220."
The spokesman praised the people of Iran for following guidelines aimed at stopping the spread of the disease.
"We owe the reduction in the number of cases of the disease to... our beloved people, as well as to the intervention of our colleagues in the health system.
"In the past 24 hours we have lost 117 people. We have had a total of 4,110 deaths due to the COVID-19 disease."
Iran, which announced its first COVID-19 cases on February 19, is by far the worst hit by the pandemic in the Middle East, according to official tolls.
But there has been speculation abroad that the real number of deaths and infections in the country could be higher.