Iran’s parliament on Monday called for ban on import of all coronavirus vaccines produced in Western countries, echoing a decision made by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The call was reported by the ISNA news agency.
“Since there have been acute side-effects and even deaths in some cases after injecting the vaccines, including those from Pfizer, the government should ban import of Western vaccines,’’ the agency quoted an appeal by 200 of the 290 deputies as saying.
Earlier, Khamenei banned COVID-19 vaccines from the U.S. Britain and France, claiming that their safety and effectiveness had not been proven.
Iran’s allegations don’t match the consensus of experts who have studied the data, and Khamenei’s decision trigged a heated debate in the country.
Critics call the ban politically motivated.
Numerous governments around the world have approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine after scientific review.
The World Health Organisation has also given its authorisation.
Hardliners in the parliament support the ban, claiming that the vaccines could cause cancer, infertility and impotence.
There is also fantastical talk of implanted GPS chips to programme Iranians to become robots of the West.
President Hassan Rowhani’s government has distanced itself from the statements, but in general, shares concerns about the vaccines.
Critics, on the other hand, believe the Western vaccines are safer than those from China, Russia and Cuba, with which the Iranian government has no problem.
“Importing vaccines is vital for the people of the country; therefore, decisions should be made only on a scientific basis, and not politicised,’’ the Iranian Medical Association warned in a letter to Rowhani.
Since the pandemic began, Iranian authorities say there have been more than 56,000 deaths and nearly 1.3 million infections.
