Government to Provide 1 Million Doses of AZ Vaccine to Iran

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The government will provide 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine to Iran, which is struggling with COVID-19 vaccine supply.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release on the 25th, "We will donate 1 million doses of the AZ vaccine to Iran, which is facing a severe humanitarian crisis due to difficulties in securing vaccines amid the spread of COVID-19."

The government added that the vaccines will arrive in Iran on the 27th and will be delivered to the Iranian people as a symbol of the 60 years of friendly relations between the two countries.

Iran, which is under Western sanctions, is having difficulties securing vaccines, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has evaluated that international community support is urgently needed in this regard.

The government has maintained a position to participate in the international community's vaccine support for Iran on a humanitarian basis and has been discussing specific plans related to the donation.

This vaccine donation is also expected to act as a positive factor in improving relations with Iran, which has strongly urged the resolution of the domestic frozen won funds issue.

In 2010, Iran opened won accounts at IBK Industrial Bank and Woori Bank under the name of the Central Bank of Iran and received payments for crude oil exports, but transactions through these accounts were suspended after the U.S. government placed the Central Bank of Iran on the sanctions list in 2018.

The frozen Iranian funds in Korea are estimated to be about 7 billion dollars (approximately 8.3 trillion won).

A government official said about this donation, "It does not fall under the sanctions for humanitarian reasons," and added, "It is humanitarian support for bilateral friendly relations."

Iran is the third overseas country to which the government has donated COVID-19 vaccines, following Vietnam and Thailand.