A mother takes care of Parham, a 7-year-old, suspected to have the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a children’s hospital in Tehran, Iran, July 8, 2020. Photo: WANA (West Asia News Agency) / Abdollah Heidari / via Reuters.

Iran’s death toll from the novel coronavirus rose by 175 to 25,015 on Thursday, the highest in the Middle East, with the total number of identified cases spiking to 436,319 in the country, according to Health Ministry.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that 3,521 new cases were identified in the last 24 hours in Iran.

Iran’s health officials have voiced alarm over a surge in infections, urging the nation to respect health protocols to control the spread of the disease.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday that some restrictions might be reinstated in the worst-hit provinces, Iranian media reported.