Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has banned the import of Coronavirus vaccines from the US and Britain. Khamenei, during one of his speeches, ordered the government of Iran in this regard. Iran has been the most affected by the Coronavirus pandemic in the Middle East.
In his speech, Ali Khamenei said, “Imports of U.S. and British vaccines into the country are forbidden. I have told this to officials and I’m saying it publicly now.”
“I have no confidence in them. Sometimes they want to test vaccines on other nations… If the Americans were able to produce a vaccine, they would not have such a coronavirus fiasco in their own country,” added Ali Khamenei.
Where will Iran take the vaccine?
Ali Khamenei praised Iran’s efforts to develop domestic vaccines but said Iran could obtain vaccines “from other reliable places”.
However, Khamenei did not name any country, but both China and Russia are friends with Iran and both have developed their own vaccines.
Khamenei said, “I’m not optimistic about France either because of their history of infected blood,” This statement of the Supreme Leader was from the contaminated blood scandal of France in the 1980s and 90s.
Order of pfizer vaccine canceled
Following the announcement by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Red Crescent Society of Iran announced the cancellation of orders for the Pfizer vaccine. Pfizer had Iran deal for 150,000 doses.
According to the Tasnim news agency, Society spokesman Mohammad Hassan stated that Pfizer’s order was ‘provisional’ and that the society would take ‘one million corona vaccines from an eastern country’.
Central Bank Governor Abdul Nasser said in December that Iran is in talks with China for a million vaccine doses. Officials also negotiated with Russia for joint production of the Sputnik V vaccine.
