Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appealed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to approve a $5 billion emergency loan request to combat its novel coronavirus outbreak.

“I urge all international organisations to fulfill their duties,” Rouhani said during a cabinet meeting.

“We are a member of the IMF [...] if there's going to be any discrimination between Iran and others in giving loans, neither us nor world opinion will tolerate it,” he said in televised remarks.