Iran reported 235 new deaths from the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, a record toll for a single day in the Middle East’s hardest-hit country. “We have lost 235 of our compatriots due to COVID-19 in the past 24 hours,” taking the overall toll to 16,147, said health ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari. Authorities had placed Tehran among 15 out of Iran’s 31 provinces now on “red” alert over the virus, she told a televised news conference.