Hassan Rouhani: "US Sanctions Obstruct COVID-19 Vaccine Imports"

President Hassan Rouhani of Iran. (Photo by EPA)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] On the 27th (local time), Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran, stated that U.S. economic sanctions are hindering the import of COVID-19 vaccines.

President Rouhani said at the COVID-19 task force meeting that "the economic terrorism imposed during former President Donald Trump's administration is still in place," and “although we ordered vaccines and paid for them, vaccine manufacturers are afraid of U.S. sanctions, causing delays and cancellations in vaccine delivery.”

However, President Rouhani did not mention specific cases of vaccine delays or cancellations. Some foreign media interpreted this as referring to the Indian prosecutor's blocking of the export of 370,000 doses of vaccines ordered by Iran last week.

In 2015, during former President Barack Obama's administration, Iran reached a nuclear agreement with the U.S. that primarily limited nuclear activities in exchange for lifting U.S. sanctions against Iran.

However, in 2018, former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally declared the termination of the nuclear agreement and restored most of the sanctions against Iran.

Iran also gradually reduced its compliance with the nuclear agreement provisions starting in May 2019.

Since the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration, the U.S. and Iran have hinted at the possibility of restoring the nuclear agreement, but both sides are engaged in a standoff, each demanding the other to fulfill obligations first.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.