TEHRAN – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi has thanked Japan for providing Iran with millions of free coronavirus vaccines. 

Iranian state media reported that the first consignment of vaccines against COVID-19 disease sent by the Japanese government arrived in Tehran on Friday. The first shipment included 1,087,570 doses of Astrazeneca vaccines made in Japan. 

Reza Zabib, the assistant foreign minister and director general of Asia-Pacific Department at the Foreign Ministry, said Iran will import another 3.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the next few days, according to the Iranian state news agency IRNA. 

In a tweet on Saturday, Araqchi thanked Japan in Japanese. “We sincerely thank the Japanese government and people,” he wrote. 

Earlier on Thursday, Zabib said on Twitter, “Following the efforts of colleagues and the help of the Ministry of Health and the central bank, three shipments of vaccines will be imported.”

The official said, “Today, also on Sunday, a total of about 2.2 million doses will be imported from China (a total of 10.85 million doses from China).”

He explained that “Tomorrow, Friday, one million doses of Astrazeneca will be imported from Japan as well as the remaining 9.1 million doses of this shipment.”