Kianoush Jahanpour, the head of the Health Ministry’s public relations department, tweeted that the vaccines have been produced by South Korea and were sent to Iran from Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
He said the batch arrived in Tehran with two to three weeks of delay.
He said 3,600,000 out of 16,800,000 doses of COVAX vaccines purchased by Iran are expected to arrive in Iran by the end of May.
The phone call was part of Iran’s ongoing consultations on the settlement of the Yemen crisis.
In the Monday telephone conversation, the two sides exchanged views on the latest developments pertaining to the peace process in Yemen.
The top Iranian official expressed content with the headway made with Yemen peace talks under the aegis of UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths.
Khaji expressed hope Yemeni people’s resistance will result in the lifting of the cruel blockade and the establishment of a lasting peace.
The two officials also discussed Iran’s latest diplomatic attempts to help solve the problem of the Safer oil tanker.
Abdul-Salam, for his part, appreciated Iran’s political support while elaborating on some points regarding the latest developments in the ongoing Yemen peace talks as well as the latest situation of the Safer vessel.
During the meeting held on Monday afternoon, the two sides discussed issues of mutual interest.
Foreign Minister Zarif elaborated on the latest developments of Iran-Uzbekistan bilateral relations in various political, economic, and cultural fields, and expressed Tehran’s interest in promoting its cooperation with Tashkent within the framework of extensive capacities available for mutual cooperation.
The Uzbek president, in turn, underlined the significance of bilateral relations, and highlighted the necessity of expanding mutual collaborations and holding the 14th meeting of Iran-Uzbekistan Joint Economic Commission in a shorter time span.
In addition to bilateral issues, the two sides also discussed the peace process in Afghanistan as well as Iran-Uzbekistan cooperation in international fields.
Even the remaining ones had been totally shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Iranian poet, lyricist and literary critic Alireza Raheb lost his life to COVID-19. He is not among us anymore to see that instead of routine literary circles in the physical world, numerous rooms under the name “book-reading” have emerged in the virtual world with the presence of individuals who do not often have specific identities. He believed the virtual world is currently the hub of producing poets and authors in Iran, meaning literature does not exist there in the real sense of the word.
Several other poets and writers share the same viewpoint when it comes to the presence of literature and books in the virtual world. Of course, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the virtual world has now become the only available platform for holding literary circles and meetings.
One of the virtual platforms where users have made their presence felt is Clubhouse.
Clubhouse has been so controversial. Some say only the wealthy and those who have Apple cellphones (devices running on the iOS operating system) are allowed in. Moreover, one needs to have an invitation from a Clubhouse member to be able to join, which has made users sell invitation letters at exorbitant prices. All that being said, Clubhouse does not offer any features which are strikingly different from those of other social media outlets, and sometimes its features are not on a part with those of other virtual platforms.
Now, we come to the rooms of Clubhouse where a number of Iranian politicians as well as other well-known people have also been present.
Still, you may find titles such as “Arts,” “Books” and “Writing” under the categories of Clubhouse rooms.
And that is why they say some people have entered Clubhouse with neckties and BMWs while some others have made their presence felt in this social media outlet with their books.
Some prominent literary figures have also got on board.
The number of followers of some literature rooms on Clubhouse is considerable. As a case in point, the Harry Potter page has more than 16,000 followers.
All in all, the path ahead of Clubhouse looks hazy, and this social media outlet could be filtered, leading to the closure of virtual literary circles as was already the case with literary gatherings held in the real world!
In the Monday visit, Foreign Minister Zarif said the Uzbek president’s move to build this centre will make the youth more familiar with their noble values and history.
“This in turn increases reliance on Islamic beliefs, and is in line with the goal of confronting extremism and staying away from violent interpretations of Islam,” Zarif said.
At the beginning of the visit, the head of the Centre for Islamic Civilisation provided detailed explanations about the Centre, saying it has been established to maintain and promote Islamic works and to serve as a centre for Islamic researchers from across the world.
The Centre for Islamic Civilisation in Tashkent also includes a library rich in Islamic works.
In a press briefing on Monday, Sima-Sadat Lari said the new cases identified in the past 24 hours increase the total number of cases to 1,945,964.
She further confirmed 172 new deaths caused by the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the biggest single-day rise since December 24, 2020, increasing the overall death toll to 63,332.
So far, Lari added, 1,658,978 patients have recovered from the disease or been discharged from the hospital.
Lari said 4,095 patients are also in critical conditions caused by more severe infection.
The spokeswoman noted that 13,183,709 COVID-19 tests have been taken across the country so far.
She said currently 88 cities including Tehran are in the “red” zone, 139 cities are in the “orange” zone, 198 are in the “yellow” zone, and 23 are in the “blue” zone in terms of coronavirus outbreak.
In the Monday meeting, the Iranian top diplomat reviewed the two countries’ relations in various fields, especially economic ties, trade exchanges, and collaborations in the fields of transportation, transit, and energy as well as the need for tapping into the existing capacities and its economic feasibility.
Foreign Minister Zarif also discussed political issues between Iran and Uzbekistan, the existing grounds for cultural and tourism collaborations, and avenues for promoting mutual cooperation in the aforementioned areas.
Kamilov, in turn, stressed Iran’s regional position and international influence, and highlighted the significance of Tehran-Tashkent collaborations in various fields including cooperation at international bodies, parliamentary cooperation between the two countries’ parliamentary friendship groups, collaborations in the fields of transport and transit, and using the port capacities of Iran along the coasts of Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.
The existing capacities for cooperation in economic, transport, and logistical fields are beyond the current level of ties between the two countries, Kamilov said, highlighting the necessity of expanding mutual cooperation.
The two sides also exchanged views on the US’ unilateral and cruel sanctions against Iran, Tehran-Tashkent cooperation in the Afghan peace process, and their collaboration at legal-international bodies.
The meeting of the joint commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is slated to be held in Vienna on Tuesday, April 6, bringing together delegates from Iran and the P4+1 group.
This comes as the event has been controversial due to some false claims by Western media, which have alleged that the Vienna talks also include Iran’s missile and regional programs.
Iran has said time and again that it will return to its obligations under the JCPOA only after the United States lifts sanctions against Iran all at once and after Tehran verifies the removal of sanctions.
Iran has rejected a step-by-step lifting of sanctions.
Tehran has made it clear that it will make good on its commitments if the 4+1 group can talk Washington into complying with this framework, or else Iran will keep moving on its current path.
“We will hold talks only with the 4+1 group about the return of all signatories to their obligations under the JCPOA, and we will hold no direct or indirect talks with the United States,” said Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi in a meeting on Sunday, April 4.
He added Iran will lay out its demands at Tuesday’s meeting in accordance with the policies announced by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
In this phone call, the two sides conferred on the latest developments related to the JCPOA, especially the upcoming meeting of the Joint Commission in Vienna.
The Iranian foreign minister once again underlined the necessity of the full and final removal of the US’ unlawful and unfair sanctions in a way that Iran can verify.
“This is how we will return to our commitments,” Zarif said.
He also called on the European parties to the JCPOA to respect their commitments under the deal, and play a constructive role in the upcoming Vienna talks.
The UK Foreign Secretary, in turn, said his country will try to help negotiations bear fruit.
The two sides also exchanged views on certain political and consular issues.
On Saturday, Zarif also had a phone conversation with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian about the upcoming Vienna meeting.
In a statement on Sunday, Khatibzadeh said any internal instability and tension in the West Asia region benefits the Zionist regime.
“This regime’s fingerprint can always be traced in any sedition in Islamic countries,” he noted.
He emphasised the significance of peace and stability in the Arab country, and highlighted Iran’s amicable relations with Jordan.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is opposed to any internal instability and foreign interference, and believes all internal affairs of countries must be pursued within the framework of law,” he added.
Khatibzadeh’s remarks came after the government of Jordan arrested a number of high-profile figures for an alleged plot against King Abdullah II.
Bassem Awadallah, a long-time confidante of King Abdullah II who later became minister of finance, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, are among those arrested on Saturday, according to Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency.
Awadallah had helped spearhead economic reforms before leaving as head of the royal court in 2008.
There were initial reports that Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, a former crown prince and the king’s half-brother, was also arrested, but Jordan’s army chief of staff denied the reports and said the prince has been to “stop some movements and activities that are being used to target Jordan’s security and stability.”
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