A Tehran municipality worker cleans a bus to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 illness on Wednesday. Iran said Tuesday its coronavirus outbreak, AFP Photo

LONDON — At least 210 people have died in Iran from the new coronavirus, BBC Persian reported Friday citing unnamed sources in the Islamic republic's health system, promoting an angry denial from a health ministry spokesman.

Most of the people died in the capital Tehran and the holy city of Qom in central Iran, where the country's first case was reported, the London-based global news network's Persian service said.

Iran's official death toll stood at 34 on Friday afternoon, with eight new deaths reported over the previous 24 hours.

Health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur accused BBC Persian of joining the Islamic republic's regional enemies in a "race to spread lies" about Iran.

"Iran's exemplary transparency in publishing information on the coronavirus has stunned many people," Jahanpur tweeted. — AFP