The shipment, including over 700,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, was shipped to Iran on Sunday night…reports Asian Lite News
The first consignment of jabs allocated to Iran under the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) program has arrived in Tehran, the country’s Food and Drug Administration said on Monday.
The shipment, including over 700,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, was shipped to Iran on Sunday night, Xinhua news agency reported citing Kianoush Jahanpour, the administration’s spokesperson, as saying.
Iran’s quota under the COVAX program amounts to 16.8 million doses, Jahanpour said.
So far, Iran has received 520,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, and plans to produce domestic vaccines in the next months.
A health worker looks at a vial of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination centre
Meanwhile, President Hassan Rouhani recently blamed Washington’s sanctions for “hindering the availability of Covid-19 vaccines” for Iranians.
Rouhani said that his administration has allowed the private sector to import the vaccines, using the subsidized foreign currency and under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua/IANS)
“We will not talk directly or indirectly with the US in Vienna,” said deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi…reports Asian Lite News
Iran will not engage in negotiations with the US at the meeting in Vienna next week where the 2015 nuclear deal will be discussed, a top official said here on Sunday.
“We will not talk directly or indirectly with the US in Vienna,” deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said, denying American reports that indirect negotiations would take place between the two.
The remaining parties of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are to hold a fresh round of discussions on a possible US return to the agreement that aims prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in return for sanctions relief.
The US pulled out in 2018 and trading restrictions reimposed by Washington have prevented Tehran from reaping significant economic benefits.
In return, Iran started scaling back its compliance last year by overstepping key limits related to uranium, the fuel for civilian nuclear power stations but which can be enriched to make warheads.
“Iran’s policy in this regard is clear and simple: the US must return to the Vienna nuclear agreement, fulfil the deal in accordance with the treaty and lift sanctions against Iran,” Araghchi told state television.
As soon as this happens, Iran will return to complying with the deal’s agreements, said Araghchi, who heads the Iranian delegation.
He also said Tehran would only hold purely technical talks on a US return to the deal and the parties would then pass on the details to the US.
“How they do that, whether they will be successful or not, all that is their business and not ours,” the Minister added.
The pandemic has so far claimed 62,999 lives in Iran, up by 123 in the past 24 hours…reports Asian Lite News
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is already underway in two provinces.
“If people in other provinces do not honour (health guidelines), they may experience the fourth wave as well,” Xinhua news agency quoted Rouhani as saying on Saturday.
“According to the statistics, compliance with health guidelines has decreased,” he warned.
On Saturday, the Health Ministry registered 11,420 new Covid-19 cases, raising the overall caseload to 1,920,394.
The pandemic has so far claimed 62,999 lives in Iran, up by 123 in the past 24 hours, said Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for the Ministry.
Iran:People wearing face masks walk on a street in downtown Tehran
Of the newly infected, 1,060 were hospitalised, she added.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua/IANS)
Representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and Iran, known as the participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), met virtually on Friday, and “agreed to resume this session of the Joint Commission in Vienna next week
The parties to the Iran nuclear deal will convene in Vienna next week to discuss the possibility of lifting sanctions on Tehran, as well as the country’s responsibility for further implementing the agreement, the European Union (EU) said in a statement.
Representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and Iran, known as the participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), met virtually on Friday, and “agreed to resume this session of the Joint Commission in Vienna next week, in order to clearly identify sanctions lifting and nuclear implementation measures”, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying.
Friday’s high-level online meeting was chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General and Political Director of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Enrique Mora, on behalf of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
Josep Borrell, The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
“Positive meeting today,” Mora said on Twitter following the meeting.
The parties will reconvene in Vienna next week, with “substantial work ahead for a key opportunity” to bring the JCPOA back to life, he added.
The participants recognised the prospect of a full return of the US to the JCPOA and “underlined their readiness to positively address this in a joint effort, according to the EEAS.
They also “emphasized their commitment to preserve the JCPOA and discussed modalities to ensure the return to its full and effective implementation”.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who attended the virtual session, said that there is no alternative to the JCPOA.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
All parties involved should make every effort for the earliest possible return of the Iran nuclear deal to the originally established framework, Ryabkov said.
The participants paid special attention to the measures that should be taken by the US to eliminate previously committed violations of the JCPOA and to lift its sanctions against Iran, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
The US confirmed on Friday that it would attend the meeting in Vienna next week, saying it remains “open to” direct talks with Tehran.
“We have agreed to participate in talks with our European, Russian, and Chinese partners to identify the issues involved in a mutual return to compliance with the JCPOA with Iran,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran would be aiming for the “choreographed removal of all sanctions” followed by “Iran ceasing remedial measures”.
The EU said in its statement that the coordinator will “intensify separate contacts in Vienna with all JCPOA participants and the US”.
The development was welcomed by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who said it is good that all the relevant actors will meet to work on fully implementing the nuclear agreement again.
The JCPOA was reached in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, the UK, Russia, France, China, plus Germany) and the EU.
Tehran agreed to roll back parts of its nuclear weapons program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions.
President Joe Biden (www.instagram.com/whitehouse)
Washington under former President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and tightened sanctions on Iran.
The US and Iran are at a standoff over reviving the nuclear deal.
The Joe Biden administration said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the JCPOA, the US would do the same.
But Iran insisted its compliance would only take place once US sanctions were removed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi signed the deal which aimed at expanding ties in the next 25 years…reports Asian Lite News
Iran and China have inked a long-term cooperation agreement in Tehran, the state television reported.
The comprehensive agreement signed on Saturday by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, aims to expand bilateral cooperation in various fields in the next 25 years, DPA news agency reported.
The agreement paves the way for billions in Chinese investment in Tehran, and in return, Iran wants to supply oil to Beijing at favourable prices. Military cooperation is also part of the plans.
State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Tehran. pic.twitter.com/SToC4Jsiru
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described cooperation with China as strategic and said that the new agreement will deepen this partnership even further. “We want China to be a major trading partner,” he said during his meeting with Wang Yi on Saturday.
Iran is facing a crippling economic crisis due to sanctions imposed by the US in 2018, which have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. With US President Joe Biden seemingly unwilling to lift sanctions in the short term, the government in Tehran has been aligning itself more closely with Russia and China.
On February 20, Iran closed several crossing points with Iraq to stem the spread of a new coronavirus variant…reports Asian Lite News.
While the coronavirus pandemic has continued to impact people of all strata, as earlier borders are about to shut down. The border points between Iran and Iraq will be closed for passengers until April 4 in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, a top government official said here
The announcement was made on Wednesday by Hossein Qasemi, Director-General of Border Affairs of Iranian Interior Ministry, Xinhua news agency reported.
The decision was taken by the National Headquarters for Fighting Coronavirus following the request of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Qasemi told the media.
However, if there are Iranian nationals in Iraq who want to return, or if Iraqi nationals in Iran want to go back to their country, they can cross the border, he said.
Also, border crossing for traders, contractors and engineering activities would be possible after necessary evaluations, he added.
On February 20, Iran closed several crossing points with Iraq to stem the spread of a new coronavirus variant.
Iran claimed that US policy of maximum pressure, adopted by former President Donald Trump’s administration, has failed and the recession in Iran is over….reports Asian Lite News
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied that there has been either a direct or indirect exchange of messages between Tehran and Washington over mutual disputes, a top official said here.
“Until now, Iran hasn’t received any message, either direct or indirect, from the US administration,” Xinhua news agency quoted Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying.
The problem is that Washington is not willing to change the course, said Khatibzadeh, adding that the US has not taken steps to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Sanctions imposed by the former US government are still in place, and Iranian diplomats in New York City remain restricted in their movements, he noted.
US President Joe Biden
Khatibzadeh dismissed the continuation of pressure on Iran, saying that the US policy of maximum pressure, adopted by former President Donald Trump’s administration, has failed and the recession in Iran is over.
The US needs to stick to its own obligations, return to the JCPOA and lift sanctions that have been costly to the Islamic Republic, he said.
In response to the .S withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 and the re-imposition of sanctions, Iran has suspended implementing parts of its obligations under the deal.
The incumbent US administration under President Joe Biden has said that if Iran returns to full compliance with the nuclear deal, Washington would do the same.
But Iran insisted its compliance would only take place once US sanctions were removed.
