Former Iranian deputy speaker of parliament Mohammad Reza Khatami has been infected with coronavirus, Al-Arabiya reported on Saturday, citing Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Khatami has been hospitalized after contracting the virus, according to the reports.
A prominent figure in the reformist faction in Iran, Khatami was among supporters of the Islamic Revolution.
The younger brother of former president Mohammad Khatami, he was the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament from 2000 to 2004.
At least 17 regime figures in Iran have died from coronavirus and 12 others have been infected since the beginning of the outbreak in the Islamic Republic.
High-profile deaths in Iran from the coronavirus include a member of the council advising the Ayatollah, a former ambassador, a newly-elected member of parliament, an adviser to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and a re-elected member of parliament.
A top adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, was also reported to have been infected with the virus.
Ayatollah Hashem Bathayi Golpayegani, a member of the Assembly of Experts that appoints and monitors Khamenei, died from the virus.
As of Saturday, the total death toll in Iran from the coronavirus stood at 2,517. The total number of infections in Iran climbed to 35,408, up by 3,076 from Friday.
