According to Reuters, Hematy, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, said on the 24th local time that Iran has obtained permission from the United States to transfer funds overseas to buy a coronavirus vaccine.
According to the report, Hemati mentioned on the same day that the Foreign Assets Control Office of the U.S. Treasury Department had allowed an Iranian bank to transfer money to a Swiss bank to pay for the vaccine.
“They imposed sanctions on all our banks, but under the pressure of public opinion from the international community, they opened up the way to the deal.” The central banker said in an interview.
Hemati also said that Iran will pay about $244 million for the first import of 16.8 million doses of vaccine from the Covax Global Coronavirus Vaccine Program, which is led by the WHO.
Iranian officials have complained on many occasions that Iran is unable to pay the “COVID-19 vaccine implementation plan” led by the World Health Organization due to financial sanctions by the United States.
The report mentioned that the United States did not immediately respond to Hemati’s remarks.
After the United States withdrew from the Comprehensive Agreement on the Iranian Nuclear Issue in 2018, it resumed and added sanctions against Iran, especially in the financial and oil fields.
