BAKU, Azerbaijan, Mar.15
Trend:
It is important that the COVID-19 vaccine is equally distributed between to rich and poor countries, said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Trend reports via IRNA.
"The West has gathered the vaccine three times more than it needs," Zarif said.
"Justice in vaccine distribution and creating equal opportunity for poor and rich countries is important," he said.
"Those that prevented Iran to purchase vaccine, can they say that they have learned any lesson about humanity and modesty during the COVID-19 spread?" he asked.
"Our scientists are working alongside scientists of other countries to create vaccine," Zarif said.
He pointed out that Iran requires to be self-sufficient, and is expanding ties with the world.
"The spread of COVID-19 has shown how much the world countries are connected to each other," he said.
Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.
The Islamic Republic of Iran only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19. The pandemic hit a wide range of businesses in Iran since its outbreak in mid-February.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.