Jul. 21, 2021

Russia's vaccine diplomacy turns into double-edged sword in Iran

Iran/Society

The story: Statements from a top official at Iran’s health ministry about Moscow’s Sputnik V production line in the country has fueled anti-Russia sentiment on Iranian social media. The official stated that the local vaccine production line is of no use to Iranians, since the Russians could export the vaccine produced in Iran to other countries. In an effort to quell public discontent, the Iranian ambassador to Moscow and a representative from the health ministry have both said the latter remarks have been distorted.  

The coverage:  Alireza Raisi, Iran’s deputy health minister and spokesperson for the National Headquarters for Countering the Coronavirus, stated on July 18 that the production line of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in Iran does not “belong” to Tehran.

Speaking on the popular smartphone app Clubhouse, he asserted, “We knew from a long time ago that Russia produces 5 million doses a month and has given different lines to other countries under its license.”

Raisi continued, “[Russia] has also given us a [production] line that has not been useful until now. This line will produce [vaccine] from September.” He added, “[t]his production line is in Iran, but it definitely does not belong to [us] as they can distribute the [vaccines] elsewhere based on the contracts they have. That is why we have not counted on this line.”

On Iranian social media, many journalists from different political backgrounds slammed the government for relying on Russia for vaccines. Fatemeh Karimkhan, a Reformist journalist, sarcastically asked on July 19: “Did you say that Russia is our strategic ally?” Mostafa Mousavinejad, a conservative journalist, wrote on July 19 that Iran should not trust any foreign country, whether Russia or the US.

On July 20, Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador to Russia, reacted to Raisi’s controversial remarks, saying that he is certain that the health ministry official’s statements have been “distorted.” Jalali added, however, that most of the vaccines produced in Russia are for “domestic consumption,” and said it is for that reason that Moscow has “counted on the joint production [lines] for delivering the vaccines [to the countries] it is committed to.”

A few hours later, Kianoush Jahanpour, the head of the information center at the health ministry, claimed that media headlines had no connection with the real remarks of Deputy Health Minister Raisi on Clubhouse. In Jahanpour’s view, “It is worth appreciating that the Russian government and nation have used their capacity in the past months to help the Iranian health system. And one of the obvious examples of that is the co-production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Iran.”

On the same day, without naming Raisi, Actoverco, the manufacturer of the Sputnik vaccine in Iran, issued a statement, describing his remarks as “rumors.” The company added that, after obtaining confirmation from Russia, it will begin locally producing 900,000 Sputnik V vaccine doses per month.

The context/analysis: The rollout of Iran’s vaccination program has been slow, prompting dissatisfaction and anger, as only 9M out of the 82M population have received the vaccine. Meanwhile, the country has entered its fifth wave of the virus, with the Delta variant spreading across many provinces. The total death toll thus far is at least 87,000.

Tehran has produced seven different Covid-19 vaccines, but only one, Covo-Barekat, has entered the phase of public vaccination. Its production rate remains low, at a claimed 1.2M a week. However, a senior official at the Executive Headquarters of the Imam’s Directive (Setad), has asserted that a total of 50M Covo-Barekat vaccine doses will be produced by September.

Amid public discontent about the slow pace of vaccination, news about the start of the Sputnik production line in Iran, which was broken on June 26, provided a glimmer of hope to the country. Russia was initially scheduled to deliver Iran 62M doses of Sputnik V, but thus far it has only sent around 2M.

While Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Jalali denied the statement of the deputy health minister, Raisi’s comments have added to ambiguity surrounding Iran’s vaccination program. Jalali stated that Moscow has counted on the joint production line in Iran to deliver vaccines to other countries which Russia is committed to deliver. This means that the Sputnik V vaccines produced in Iran will not necessarily be distributed in the country or that all of its output will be made accessible to Iranians. It is for this reason that the deputy of Iran’s health minister likely stated that Russia’s new production line in Iran is not “useful.”

The future: With the revelations of the top Iranian health official, anti-Russia sentiment has increased on Iranian social media.

If Russia fulfills its promise by delivering the remaining 60M vaccine doses and dedicates the entirety of Sputnik V vaccines produced in Iran to Iranians, Moscow’s image could be repaired among Iranians. If Russia fails to help accelerate Iran’s vaccination process, however, skepticism about the country, which is already largely viewed with suspicion, may heighten.

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فارسیPersian
فارسیPersian
عربيArabic
عربيArabic