A member of Iran's clerical body, which appoints the supreme leader, died of the novel coronavirus, taking the death toll among serving and ex-officials to at least 12, AFP reported, quoting state news agency IRNA.

Ayatollah Hashem Bathayi Golpayegani, who was 78, died two days after testing positive for the COVID-19 disease and being hospitalised, state news agency IRNA said.

The official represented Tehran in the Assembly of Experts, an 88-strong body of clerics that appoints and monitors Iran's supreme leader.

At least 12 Iranian politicians and officials, both sitting and former, have now died of the illness, and 13 more have been infected and are either in quarantine or being treated.

The virus also killed a prominent economist and political activist, according to the semi-official news agency ISNA. Fariborz Rais-Dana, 71, succumbed to the illness after being hospitalised for six days, ISNA reported.