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Coronavirus clusters outside of China have prompted US officials to issue travel warnings for Italy and Iran after each country reported a spike in cases.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised the threat to level-one status Sunday night for both countries, warning travelers to practice usual precautions.

The travel advisory noted that multiple instances of the coronavirus spreading within each country had been confirmed.

This new coronavirus has caused severe disease and death in patients who developed pneumonia, the advisories said. Risk factors for severe illness are not yet clear, although older adults and those with chronic medical conditions may be at higher risk for severe illness.

Italy has reported 219 people who have tested positive for the coronavirus and five who have died. Meanwhile, Irans government has said 12 people died from the virus, rejecting earlier reports that the death toll there had hit 50.

Visitors to the coronavirus-stricken destinations are encouraged to avoid contact with sick people and clean their hands often by washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

Anyone who visits either country and experiences symptoms of the virus such as a fever, cough or difficulty breathing is urged to seek medical care, as well as to avoid contact with others, officials said.

The new advisories come as Italy has placed a dozen towns under quarantine in the wake of the coronavirus.

The country has effectively sealed off a dozen northern towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions, two hotspots of the outbreak. Around 50,000 people are prohibited from leaving the towns for the next two weeks without permission.

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Travel advisories for Italy and Iran issued amid coronavirus outbreak - New York Post

Israel has identified initial signs that Iran is recalculating its trajectory in Syria, giving the Jewish state an opportunity to go from the defensive to the offensive, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday.I can announce that we are identifying initial signs of loosening and recalculation by Iran regarding its plans in Syria, Bennett said at the New Tech conference. We just started and we will increase. We will go from a defensive concept to an offensive concept weakening, tiring and erasing the octopuss head by weakening its tentacles.For us, Syria is not only a threat but also an opportunity, he said. They send forces there and try to exhaust us, but we can turn the downside into an advantage. We have intelligence and operational superiority, and we are telling Iran clearly: Get out of Syria. You have nothing to look for there.Israel has warned repeatedly about Irans nuclear ambitions as well as its aspirations of regional hegemony. Jerusalem has admitted to hundreds of air strikes as part of its war-between-wars campaign to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the entrenchment of its forces in Syria, where they could easily act against the Jewish state.Bennett also referred to ongoing demonstrations taking place across Iran by citizens who are suffering from the economic sanctions placed on the Islamic Republic by the United States.The Iranian people are telling the Ayatollahs: stop wasting our money and shedding our blood in [needless] adventures. The Iranian people have had enough, he said, adding that we in Israel are corresponding with this message. The ground is burning in Iran, the embers are not extinguished, they are glowing.Last week, the IDF released more details of its new Momentum multi-year plan. One of the top priorities of Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavis plan, which aims to obtain a considerable military advantage over Israels foes, is to establish a new Iran Command.That same day Bennett said that Israel is engaged in a continuous campaign to weaken Iran and to remove its forces from Syria.We are constantly working to raise the stakes for Iran until we reach our ultimate goal: removing them from Syria. We will continue to prevent an Iranian presence on our northern border, Bennett said during a memorial ceremony at Kibbutz Dafna in the Galilee.For generations, we have been constantly fighting the arms of the Iranian octopus in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, and we have not focused enough on the weakening of Iran itself, Bennett said, adding that there has now been a change in Israels way of thinking.We are in a continuous campaign to weaken the Iranian octopus. On the economic level, political, intelligence, military, and others,he explained. When [an] octopuss arms beat you, dont fight back with only your arms, but strangle the head. And so it is with Iran.The new Iran Command will be led by a major general and will be dedicated to and focused on analyzing threats posed by the Islamic Republic and planning Israels campaign against it.The plan will bolster the IDFs attack capabilities, including improved technological means for IAF jets to destroy enemy targets, increasing the militarys intelligence superiority; expanding its intelligence gathering on the Islamic Republic, including by satellites; and bolstering Israels cyber capabilities, both defensive and offensive.

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Bennett: We identified signs that Iran is recalculating plans in Syria - The Jerusalem Post

NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk-based Sailors have been at the forefront of seizing illegal weapons likely made by Iran.

The most recent bust involved the USS Normandy, a cruiser homeported at Naval Station Norfolk.

While conducting maritime security operations in the U.S. Central Command earlier this month, Sailors boarded a dhow, finding a large cache of what are believed to be Iranian-made weapons.

Among the weapons seized: 150 anti-tank guided missiles, three surface-to-air missiles, and other weapons parts.

"The boarding team seized the weapons and brought them aboard the USS Normandy for subsequent inspections. The weapons have since been made available for inspections by international partners and organizations," Captain William Urban, US Central Command Spokesman, told reporters during a Pentagon briefing.

The Navy says many of the weapons are similar to another cache seized by the USS Forrest Sherman in the Arabian Sea on November 25th of last year.

The USS Forrest Sherman is also homeported at Naval Station Norfolk.

In that case, the weapons were determined to have originated in Iran and were destined for the Houthis in Yemen, which violates UN Security Council Resolutions prohibiting the "direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer" of weapons to the Houthis.

International partner nations and organizations have once again been invited to inspect the weapons cache seized by the USS Normandy this month.

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Dozens of Iranian weapons seized by Norfolk Sailors in recent months - wtkr.com

Tucked in the northwest corner of Iran, Lake Urmia was once the second-largest saltwater lake in the world. At its peak, the lake once covered a surface area of 5,000 square kilometers (2,000 square miles), reports Iran's Radio Farda. Its waters attracted migratory birds including flamingos, pelicans, ducks and egrets, according to The Guardian. Tourists came for its turquoise waters, boats and believed therapeutic properties.

But then the lake started to dry out. Over the past 30 years, Lake Urmia has been getting smaller. At one point its size had been reduced by as much as 80%.

Researchers blame a prolonged drought and hot summer temperatures, as well as overuse of water, new dams and irrigation projects that divert water away from the lake, points out NPR.

As the lake has shrunk, most of the birds and tourists have left. Typically, the waters are full of algae, bacteria and brine shrimp that thrive in the highly saline conditions. The water in Lake Urmia is now eight times as salty as the ocean, according to National Geographic, causing these organisms to flourish and turning the once-blue waters a pinkish-red.

Beached boats lie stranded in the muck and remnants of piers stand in the shallow waters that lead nowhere. Salt storms have harmed local villages and farmers, forcing many people to relocate.

"Just 10 years ago, waves splashed against the walls of the villages here, but now the turquoise water has been replaced by an almost endless desert," wrote German photographer Maximillian Mann, describing his Lake Urmia photos in the 2020 Sony World Photography Awards.

"Salt, carried on the wind, covers nearby fields, causing crops to dry up. Robbed of their livelihood, the local population is fleeing to the surrounding towns, and the villages around the lake are dying out."

Remnants of a dilapidated dock on Lake Urmia after 2019 torrential rains have boosted hopes for the lake's survival. (Photo: Solmaz Daryani [CC BY-SA 4.0]/Wikimedia Commons)

But there is some good news.

Torrential rains in the spring of 2019 helped the lake regain water level. According to NASA, the lake surface area reached roughly 3,000 square kilometers (1,200 square miles), nearly doubling its volume from just a year earlier.

Other factors contributing to the revival include engineering to help unblock and desilt feeder rivers, the deliberate release of water from dams in the surrounding hills and better water management, particularly among farmers, Erik Solheim, Head of United Nations Environment, and Gary Lewis, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Iran, write in Medium.

Although the water isn't deep, the rising levels are starting to make a difference.

"It was an emotional experience," Solheim and Lewis write. "Right before us was proof that the environmental problems we create can be fixed."

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Why Iran's Lake Urmia disappeared and may be coming back - Mother Nature Network

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iranians voted for a new parliament Friday, with turnout seen as a key measure of support for Irans leadership as sanctions weigh on the economy and U.S. pressure isolates the country diplomatically.

The disqualification of more than 7,000 potential candidates, most of them reformists and moderates, raised the possibility of lower-than-usual turnout. Among those disqualified were 90 sitting members of parliament who had wanted to run for re-election.

Voting was extended for five hours, but there was no official announcement on turnout after the polls finally closed late Friday.

Initial results were expected to be announced Saturday. Presidential elections are expected to take place in 2021.

The election comes at a time of growing economic hardship for many in Iran. U.S. sanctions have strangled Irans ability to sell its oil abroad, forcing its economy into recession.

Also looming over the election is the threat of the new coronavirus. Many voters headed to the polls with face masks on.

Iranian health authorities on Friday confirmed two new deaths from the virus, which first emerged in China in December, bringing the total death toll in Iran to four, from among 18 confirmed cases. Authorities say all the cases have links with city of Qom, where the first two elderly patients died on Wednesday. Concerns over the spread of the virus prompted authorities in Iran to close all schools, universities and Shiite seminaries in Qom.

Irans leadership and state media haf urged people to show up and vote, with some framing it as a religious duty. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cast his ballot at a mosque near his Tehran office shortly after polls opened at 8 a.m.

Anyone who cares about Irans national interests should participate in the election, he said. Earlier in the week, Khamenei said high voter turnout will thwart plots and plans by the U.S. and supporters of Israel against Iran.

After the disqualifications, around 7,000 candidates were left vying for a place in the 290-seat chamber across 208 constituencies.

Tensions with the United States could strengthen hard-liners by reinforcing long-held distrust of the West. A parliament stacked with hard-liners could favor expanding the budget for the Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. It could also tilt public policy debates toward hard-liners who are opposed to engagement with the U.S.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who had initially criticized the disqualification of so many moderate would-be candidates, cast his ballot on Friday and urged the public to stage another victory by voting in large numbers. Our enemies will be disappointed more than before, he said.

On the eve of the vote, the Trump administration ratcheted up its campaign of pressure on Iran by imposing sanctions on two senior officials of the Guardian Council, the body of clerics and judges that decides which candidates may run in elections. The U.S. also sanctioned three members of Irans elections supervisory committee, saying all those targeted were responsible for silencing the voice of the Iranian people by rejecting thousands of people from running.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the election as a sham and a vote that is not free or fair.

The 92-year-old head of the Guardian Council, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, who was among those sanctioned on Thursday, mocked the U.S. decision and its apparently limited impact. I am thinking what to do with the money that we have in American funds. Also, we cannot go there for Christmas and other occasions, he was quoted as saying in local media.

Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted in official media saying the election showcases that Iranians are choosing their own fate and do not allow a person sitting in Washington to make decisions for them.

Ali Motahari, one of the pro-reform lawmakers who were barred from defending their seats in this election, said the incoming parliament will not be truly representative of the people. Still, he urged people to vote.

We should still try to find moderate and clear-headed candidates from the existing ones and vote for them, he said.

The parliament in Iran does not have power to dictate major policies, but it does debate the annual budget and the possible impeachment of ministers. Power in Iran ultimately rests with Khamenei, who has final say on all key matters.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington spiked after a U.S. airstrike in January killed Irans top general, Qassem Soleimani. The strike led to a tense confrontation in which Iranian forces accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Most of those killed were Iranian.

The shoot-down, and attempts by officials to initially conceal the cause of the crash sparked public anger and protests in Iran.

Meanwhile, Iranians have seen the price of basic goods skyrocket, inflation and unemployment rise and the local currency plummet since President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from Irans nuclear agreement with world powers and imposed sanctions.

The economic woes faced by ordinary Iranians fueled anti-government protests in November. International human rights groups say at least 300 people were killed in the protests.

Neda Ghorbani, a 31-year-old mother, said she was not voting Friday because shes disappointed with Rouhani and other moderates in government.

We voted in the 2017 (presidential) election hoping that our countrys situation would improve under Rouhanis presidency, but we were wrong and we accept that we made a mistake (by voting), she said.

Local TV stations broadcast images from Qom, around 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of the capital, Tehran, showing women and men, some wearing face masks for protection, lining up in separate lines to vote on Friday. Qom is a popular religious destination and a center of learning and religious studies for Shiite Muslims from inside Iran, as well as Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.

The Tehran governor tried to calm fears over the new virus, saying voters didnt have to mark their fingers with ink after voting. Using the ink was optional, said Anoushirvan Bandpay, according to the official IRNA news agency.

People should not be worry about spreading coronavirus, he added.

Current parliament speaker Ali Larijani is stepping down after 11 years and is not running for reelection, though he was shown voting in his city of Qom. Mohammad Baqher Qalibaf, the former mayor of Tehran who is also the former head of the Revolutionary Guard air force, is seen as one of the front-runners to succeed Larijani.

The current parliament, elected in 2016, had more than 100 reformists and moderates, with the rest of the chamber split between independents and hard-liners. Some 90 current lawmakers were also barred from running in Fridays election.

Nearly 58 million Iranians, out of a population of more than 80 million, are eligible to vote. Every Iranian above the age of 18 can vote.

Turnout has been over 50% in previous parliamentary elections. In 2016, it was nearly 62%.

The polls were originally scheduled to close at 6 p.m., but officials extended that to 11 p.m. to give people more time to cast their vote. Friday is a day of rest in Iran, as is the case across most Muslim countries.

___

Associated Press writer Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

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Iranians vote in parliament elections favoring conservatives - The Associated Press