A war of words between the United States and China over coronavirus intensified on Monday after the Chinese embassy in France suggested the outbreak actually started in the US. President Donald Trump and other American officials have repeatedly described coronavirus as the “Chinese virus”, incensing Beijing and sparking tit-for-tat accusations on the origin of the contagion.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed on Sunday that the coronavirus could be man-made by the US government.
The virus “is specifically built for Iran using the genetic data of Iranians, which they have obtained through different means”, he said.
Trump and Pompeo have angered Beijing by repeatedly referring to “the Chinese virus” when discussing the COVID-19 outbreak first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
