Reuters - A wedding party contributed to a new surge in coronavirus infections in Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday but insisted the country had no option but to keep its economy open despite warnings of a second wave of the epidemic.

Iran, which has been gradually relaxing its lockdown since mid-April, has reported a sharp rise of new daily infections in recent days. Thursday�s toll of 3,574 new cases was the highest since February, when the outbreak was first reported.

�At one location, we witnessed a peak in this epidemic, the source of which was a wedding that caused problems for the people, health workers and losses to the economy and the country�s health system,� Rouhani said on state TV. He did not say when or where the wedding took place.

New cases dipped to 2,886 on Friday, bringing Iran�s total cases to more than 167,000, with over 8,000 deaths.

Health officials have been warning of a second wave of the outbreak, but say a reason for the surge in new cases could be wider testing. One official said about 70% of the new cases in Tehran were among those who had traveled outside the capital in recent days.

Iran has been struggling to curb the spread of COVID-19 but authorities are concerned that measures to limit public and economic life to contain the virus could wreck an already economy already reeling under international sanctions.

�In these circumstances, we have no other choice - that is, there is no second option,� Rouhani added. �We have to work, our factories have to be active, our shops have to be open, and there has to be movement in the country as far as it is necessary.�

Iranian universities reopened on Saturday after being closed for more than three and a half months, state media reported. Nurseries will reopen in a week�s time, when Koran and languages classes will also resume, Rouhani said


Editing by Pravin Char