Iranians, some wearing protective masks, gather inside the capital Tehran. File/AFP

Iran on Sunday announced 129 new deaths caused by the novel coronavirus, raising to 1,685 the official death toll in one of the worst-hit countries along with Italy and China.

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Health ministry spokesman Kianouche Jahanpour said more than 1,028 new cases had been recorded in the past 24 hours and a total of 21,638 people had now tested positive for the virus.

"There were 1,028 new confirmed infected cases in the past 24 hours ... and 7,913 people have recovered," said Kianush Jahanpur.

Iranians, some wearing protective masks, gather inside the capital Tehran. File/AFP

Iran is the Middle Eastern country most affected by the coronavirus.

The Islamic republic is among the three countries hardest hit by the virus with an official death toll behind only Italy and China.

The authorities have asked people to avoid all travel during the Persian New Year holidays, which usually sees almost all citizens take to the roads.

But the pleas have been ignored by many.

Agencies