Iran: Virus could spread across the nation

The Iranian Health Ministry said on Tuesday it expected the new coronavirus to spread across the country.

Iran earlier raised the official death toll from the virus to 15 killed amid 95 confirmed infections.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour told reporters in Tehran the outbreak was "likely" to spread to provinces so far unaffected "soon".

He said Iran hoped to contain the virus prior to the Persian new year which starts on March 20.

"A more pessimistic prospect is that we will reach the containment phase by late April," Jahanpour added.