DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran has received US approval to transfer money for coronavirus vaccines from abroad, the central bank chief said Thursday, as the daily death toll fell to a three-month low.
Central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said an Iranian bank had received support from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to transfer the money to a Swiss bank to pay for the vaccines.
“They (Americans) have imposed sanctions on all of our banks. They accepted this one case under pressure from the world’s public opinion, ”Hemmati told state television.
There was no immediate response from the US to Hemmati’s comments.
Hemmati said Iran would pay about $ 244 million for the initial import of 16.8 million doses of vaccines from COVAX, a multi-agency group committed to fair access to vaccines for low- and middle-income countries.
Iranian officials have repeatedly said that US sanctions are preventing them from making payments to COVAX, which has joined some 190 economies.
Iranian Shifa Pharmed began registering volunteers for human trials this week with the country’s first domestic COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Iranian media reported, as there appeared to be a group dispute over the use of imported products.
“We do not recommend injecting foreign coronavirus vaccines into Revolutionary Guard and basij (voluntary militia) personnel,” Iranian news outlets quoted Mohammed Reza Naqdi, a deputy head of the hardline Guards.
Ministry of Health spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari previously told state television that in Iran 152 people had died from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the lowest number since September 18, bringing the total number of deaths to 54,308 in Iran. worst hit country in the Middle East. .
The drop in the number of deaths comes after more than a month’s night clock and other restrictions in major cities. Police said on Wednesday 96,000 fines for drivers who violate curfews.
Officials have warned that the danger of an infection resurgence is high.
US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers in 2018 and imposed new sanctions on the country.
President-elect Joe Biden’s rise to power has opened the possibility that Washington could rejoin the agreement.
Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Nick Macfie Editing by Mark Heinrich and Nick Macfie