Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi has tested positive for the coronavirus, state media reported on Sunday, as the country announced a new record high in daily fatalities.
Salehi, a vice president and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, had been under quarantine and resting at home since the test on October 3, state news agency IRNA reported.
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Another vice president, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, said Saturday on Twitter that he was "under medical observation" after contracting the virus during the past week.
Cited by French news agency AFP, Iranian media said both Salehi and Nobakht were in a "good" health condition on Sunday.
Deaths and infections from the virus have been on a sharply rising trajectory in Iran since early September.
The Health Ministry said another 251 people died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, yet another record high for a single day in the Islamic republic.
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Total virus infections since Iran reported its first cases in February crossed 500,000 on Sunday, with 3,822 new cases confirmed.
Overall, the COVID-19 death toll has hit 28,544 and 500,075 people were infected in the Middle East country hardest hit by the pandemic.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
