Iran's health ministry denies report on iodine distribution over US strike fears

Iran's health ministry has denied a report by The Times of London that it was distributing iodine tablets near its nuclear sites to prepare for possible US strikes. "No Ministry of Health official has spoken to The Times, and the quote attributed to the ministry is false," Hossein Kermanpour, head of the ministry's public relations and information centre, wrote on X. He said the health system was prepared for various scenarios and threats from "an enemy that does not even spare children". But he added that declaring a state of war was not within the ministry's authority. He called publishing unverified reports at such a time "irresponsible". The Times of London had cited an unnamed health ministry official who said Iran was handing out iodine tablets to communities near its nuclear facilities. The official was quoted as saying, “Trump can no longer be trusted. He may go through with this crime," and that in every war, Iran had tried to distribute the tablets, which help protect the thyroid gland from radiation, within two to three kilometres of its nuclear sites.