DUBAI (REUTERS) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday (March 21) that social distancing measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak in the country, including travel restrictions, will apply for only two to three weeks as he expects the crisis to ease by then.

Iran "has to do everything necessary to return economic production to normal", he said in comments broadcast on state TV. He also accused "counter-revolutionaries" of plotting to shut down economic production.

Iran is one of the countries most affected by the pandemic outside China, with more than 1,400 deaths so far, and nearly 20,0000 confirmed infections.