Mohammad Javad Zarif
Iran’s ambassador to Russia said Saturday that Tehran expects to receive the first batch of Moscow’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine by February 4, state news agency IRNA reported.
The news comes just days after Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced the vaccine had been approved by the Islamic republic.
“A contract for the purchase and joint production was signed yesterday between Iran and Russia,” envoy Kazem Jalali said, quoted by IRNA.
Two more batches are to be delivered by February 18 and 28, he added, without specifying quantities.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei earlier this month banned the use of vaccines made by the United States and Britain, calling them “completely untrustworthy”.
Iran is fighting the Middle East’s deadliest outbreak of Covid-19 with more than 57,800 dead out of over 1.4 million cases.
The country says arch enemy US has blocked its access to vaccines through Washington’s tough…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
