The Iranian central bank says it received US support to transfer money to a Swiss account to pay for vaccines.
Iran has secured U.S. approval to transfer funds for coronavirus vaccines from abroad, the head of the central bank said, as its daily death toll fell to a three-month low.
Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said an Iranian bank had received support from the U.S. Treasury’s Foreign Assets Control Office to transfer the money to a Swiss bank to pay for the vaccines.
“They [Americans] we have put sanctions on all our banks. They accepted this case under pressure from world public opinion, “Hemmati told state television.
There was no immediate US reaction to Hemmati’s statements.
Hemmati said Iran would pay nearly $ 244 million for initial imports of 16.8 million doses of COVAX vaccines, a multi-agency group dedicated to ensuring fair access to vaccines for low- and middle-income countries .
Iranian officials have repeatedly said U.S. sanctions prevent them from making payments to COVAX, to which some 190 economies have joined.
Iranian Shifa Pharmed began registering volunteers this week for human trials of the country’s first national candidate for the COVID-19 vaccine, Iranian media reported, as it appeared that a factional dispute was brewing over use of imports.
“We do not recommend injecting foreign coronavirus vaccines to the staff of the Revolutionary Guard and the Basij [voluntary militia]Iranian media reported Mohammed Reza Naqdi, deputy head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard line of the hard line.
Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari previously told state television that 152 people had been killed in COVID-19 in Iran in the past 24 hours, the lowest figure since Sept. 18, bringing to 54,308 deaths in the worst affected country in the Middle East.
The drop in deaths comes after more than a month of night traffic curfew and other restrictions in big cities. Police said 96,000 fines were issued across the country on Wednesday for drivers breaking the curfew.
Officials have warned that the danger of a resurgence of infections is significant.
U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers in 2018 and imposed new sanctions on the country.
The coming to power of President-elect Joe Biden has raised the possibility that Washington may rejoin the agreement.