They were hit very early, and the lockdowns came far later.

Famously, the Iranian health minister was on TV announcing that the country doesn't need to take special Covid19 measure while visibly sweating because of the fever caused by his Covid19 infection.

If you want positive proof that lockdowns work, the absolute best example is Vietnam: a tiny country of 100 million people which has experienced 1123 total infections so far, with 37 deaths.

Italy didn't have lockdowns until the spread was too extensive. Iran simply lied about what was going on for the majority of the year.