For months now, the Iranian regime has been promoting various domestic vaccines and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei even made a show of getting injected with a so-called domestic vaccine, but yet the regime hasn’t submitted any of these to the international health organization’s responsible for approving the vaccines for worldwide distribution.
Now, various observers have noted that Khamenei’s focus on domestic vaccines is an attempt to cover up the election scandal and steal the Iranian people’s money. IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami claimed that they are ready to export the vaccines to the USA, but the truth is that they are not. (National Covid-19 Task Force member Minoo Mohraz even rejected this notion.)
The state-run newspaper Arman wrote: “When people see that previous promises of some officials regarding the public vaccination have not been fulfilled, they become worried about the officials’ promises during these days as well as the advertisements that are made and heard in order to produce different Iranian vaccines. Actions speak louder than words.”
There are seven vaccines mentioned so far, including Cov Barekat, Cinnagen, Iranian Sputnik, Pastor, Razi, Fakhra, and Noora, but Iranians have not been vaccinated en-masse. Only 5.5% of the population has been vaccinated, while in neighbouring countries that do not claim to have created their own vaccine, all adults have been vaccinated and the health ministries have moved onto children.
The Resalat daily reported that Iranian officials don’t have “a specific plan for vaccination” and that there is chaos at vaccine sites. This comes as health officials warn that the fifth wave of the coronavirus is spreading across the country, as cited by the Javan daily and the IRNA news agency.
Alireza Zali, the head of the committee to combat coronavirus in Tehran, said: “The increase in coronavirus outpatients in Tehran should be considered as a warning, and yesterday, for the first time in several days, the number of outpatients increased by more than 10,000 people.”
And, of course, some 300,000 people have now died from the coronavirus.
The Iranian Resistance wrote: “By banning valid vaccines and making hollow promises of domestically produced vaccines, Khamenei trapped the people more and more in Covid-19 to stop them from rioting and protesting. But he has miscalculated because every death from the Covid-19 will add to the anger and hatred of the people against the regime, and the widespread and nationwide uprisings and protests of the various segments of the people despite the virus, especially in recent months, reflect this fact.”
