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(Adds Twitter removes Khamenei tweet)
By Parisa Hafezi
DUBAI, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader on Friday
banned the government from importing COVID-19 vaccines from the
United States and Britain, labelling the Western powers
"untrustworthy", as the infection spreads in the Middle East’s
hardest-hit country.
In a live televised speech, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei raised
the prospect of the two Western countries, long-time adversaries
of the Islamic Republic, possibly seeking to spread the
infection to other countries.
He added however that Iran could obtain vaccines "from other
reliable places". He gave no details, but China and Russia are
both allies of Iran.
"Imports of U.S. and British vaccines into the country are
forbidden ... They're completely untrustworthy. It's not
unlikely they would want to contaminate other nations," said
Khamenei, the country's highest authority.
"Given our experience with France's HIV-tainted blood
supplies, French vaccines aren't trustworthy either," Khamenei
said, referring to the country's contaminated blood scandal of
the 1980s and 1990s.
Khamenei repeated the accusations in a tweet that was
removed by Twitter along with a message saying it violated the
platform's rules against misinformation.
Iran launched human trials of its first domestic COVID-19
vaccine candidate late last month, saying it could help Iran
defeat the pandemic despite U.S. sanctions that affect its
ability to import vaccines.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have risen since
2018, when President Donald Trump abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal
and reimposed sanctions to pressure Iran into negotiating
stricter curbs on its nuclear program, ballistic missile
development and support for regional proxy forces.
In retaliation for U.S. sanctions, which were lifted under
the nuclear deal, Tehran has gradually violated the accord. U.S.
President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, has
pledged to rejoin the agreement if Tehran also returns to full
compliance.
Khamenei said Tehran was in no rush for the United States to
re-enter the deal, but that sanctions on the Islamic Republic
must be lifted immediately.
Iran's utmost authority, Khamenei ruled out any talks over
Tehran's missile programme and Iran's involvement in the Middle
East, as demanded by the United States and some other major
powers.
"Contrary to the U.S., Iran's involvement in the region
creates stability and is aimed at preventing instability ...
Iran’s involvement in the region is definite and will continue."
Shortly before Khamenei's speech, Iran's elite Revolutionary
Guards unveiled an underground missile base at an undisclosed
Gulf location.
The West sees Iran’s missiles both as a conventional
military threat to regional stability and a possible delivery
mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them.
But Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programmes in
the Middle East, regards the programme as an important deterrent
and retaliatory force against the United States and other
adversaries - primarily Gulf Arabs - in the region in the event
of war.
(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Toby Chopra, Timothy
Heritage, William Maclean and Sonya Hepinstall)
