There is no scientific proof offered anywhere in the world to support Khamenei's comments. Wuhan is the Chinese city where the first cases of the disease were detected in December. In recent days, the Trump administration has increasingly referred to the virus as the “Chinese” or “Wuhan” virus, while the World Health Organization used the term COVID-19 to describe the illness the virus causes. Even a U.S. senator from Arkansas has trafficked in the unfounded conspiracy theory it was a man-made Chinese bioweapon. Evidence suggests it originated in bats, which infected another animal that spread it to people at a market in Wuhan.

Source: International New York Times March 22, 2020 07:59 UTC