ERBIL - Iran's first vice president, Eshaq Jahangiri, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the semi-official Fars news agency revealed on Wednesday.

Jahangiri is the most senior official to have been infected with the coronavirus in Iran where 23 other officials and lawmakers previously tested positive for the virus.

According to the report, the 63-year-old official has been put in quarantine.

Iran said on Wednesday that a total of 9,000 cases of the coronavirus have been recorded in the country so far, adding that at least 354 people have died from the virus since the beginning of its outbreak in the country.

"Based on new lab results, we have identified 958 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in the country, bringing the total number of cases to 9,000," Kianoush Jahanpour, a spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Health, said in a statement.

BasNews