TEHRAN – More than 200 members of the Iranian Parliament issued a statement on Sunday expressing support for the production of the Iranian coronavirus vaccine, calling it an achievement that brings honor and pride to the nation.

Amid the global debates over the effectiveness of the American vaccines Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna as well as Britain’s Oxford-AstraZeneca, the MPs emphasized their support for the vaccine being produced in Iran. 

The statement which was read aloud in the Parliament's open session praised the development of the Iranian vaccine by the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam and knowledge-based institutions.

In a televised speech on Friday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei banned the import of vaccines from American and British companies, saying they are not reliable. 

"When the country was facing the cruelest sanctions and the villainy of the arrogant powers and European countries were not even willing to issue a license for imports of facial masks to Iran and the Iranian nation had serious problems to supply health items and medicine to prevent the disease, the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam played a great role under the direct command of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution," the statement said.

It added, "From the earliest days of the virus outbreak, different sections of the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam commenced their activities in areas such as the production of health items including facial masks and disinfectants, production of sanctioned drugs, production of medical equipment for respiratory patients, as well as immediate coronavirus test kits. They did not leave the Ministry of Health and Medical Education alone at the forefront of the fight against this deadly global disease and turned the sanctions into opportunities and prevented a major crisis."

Pointing to the huge achievement of Iranian scientists by producing the first homemade Iranian coronavirus vaccine, the statement said, "But what has caught the world's attention most in recent weeks is the success of the young Iranian scientists… in manufacturing the first Iranian corona vaccine and obtaining permission from the competent authorities to perform the human test phase of the vaccine".

"We, the representatives of the Iranian people, consider this great and valuable achievement the result of revolutionary management and belief in the domestic capabilities and experts," it stated.

The MPs also said, "We congratulate all the staff of the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam and all the staff of the health sector of the country for their efforts to save the lives of noble Iranian people".

The parliamentarians noted that considering the impossibility of examining the safety, health, and efficacy of vaccines produced by American and British companies, as well as the available evidence of shock, side effects, and deaths caused by foreign vaccines, the Iranian Parliament fully supports the order of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in this regard and urges the administration to act accordingly.

AJ/PA