Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar Al-Iryani warned on Tuesday that the Houthi militia’s management of the coronavirus follows the Iranian regime’s style of handling the pandemic, which threatens the lives of millions. 

The minister claimed that the Houthis – as with the Iranian regime – were holding back information on the number of COVID-19 cases in areas under their control. 

Information received from the Houthi-held capital Sanaa revealed that the number of cases and deaths over the past few days indicated a “disastrous level of the spread of the virus and lack of medical care,” the ministry said. 

Al-Iryani said the Houthis’ continued “denial policy” was “endangering the lives of millions.”

“The Houthis…(are) hiding data and information from their public and international organizations, including the number of suspected cases and deaths, and their lenient precautionary measures,” the Minister of Information said in a statement to the Yemeni news agency (Saba). 

Al-Iryani called on the international community, the United Nations Secretary-General and his special envoy to Yemen and the World Health Organization to save millions of Yemenis in militia control areas.