Iran asks for billions in loans as virus deaths climb to 429

Iran says the new coronavirus has killed 75 more people, raising the death toll to 429 amid over 10,000 cases in the Islamic Republic. That's according to a Health Ministry spokesman who spoke in a live, televised news conference on Thursday.

Iran is the hardest-hit country in the Mideast by the new coronavirus, which sickens but largely doesn't kill those afflicted. Iran has asked for an emergency USD 5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to combat the outbreak there.

The rising casualty figures each day there suggests the fight against the new coronavirus is far from over. Outside of Iran, only Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon have recorded deaths from the virus in the Middle East..