Iran’s Leader Bans Import of American, British COVID-19 Vaccines

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution, has banned the import of American and British-made vaccines, saying the vaccines produced by these two countries cannot be trusted.

“The import of American and British vaccines is prohibited. If Americans had managed to produce a vaccine, they would not be facing such a fiasco today in their own country,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a Friday speech.

He said some 4,000 people died of coronavirus in a single day in the US a few days ago, and if this Pfizer company had developed an effective vaccine, it would have prevented that from happening.

“I really don’t trust them. Sometimes they want to test the vaccine on other nations,” he added.

He said he is not optimistic about France as well after the infected blood scandal in the 1990s.

“However, it is OK if they [government officials] would want to supply the vaccine from other reliable sources,” the Leader added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and said Tehran is in no rush and does not insist on the US return to the multilateral deal.

“If they lift the sanctions, their return to JCPOA means something; otherwise, their return to the deal may be detrimental to Iran,” the Leader said.

He said the recent decision made by the Iranian Parliament and the government to stop Iran’s commitments was a rational, logical and acceptable move.

“When the other side does not implement any of its commitments, there is no point for Iran to fulfil all its commitments,” he said.

However, the Leader noted, if they return to their commitments, we will do the same.

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