Ongoing Electoral Debate Over 'COVID-19 Vaccine Imports' in Rouhani's Government

The Iranian Ministry of Health, in response to recent statements by Mohammad Javad Zarif, former foreign minister and current supporter of reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, blamed Hassan Rouhani's government for what it termed 'delays in importing COVID-19 vaccines,' which it claimed led to the 'deaths of thousands' of Iranians. In a statement on Sunday, the Ministry asserted that contrary to Zarif's recent comments, who is currently speaking as a representative of Pezeshkian at election rallies, Rouhani's government did not import 120 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Ministry claimed that the actual number of vaccines imported by Rouhani's government was 28.7 million doses, of which 18 million were administered by the end of the twelfth government. The statement further noted that vaccine imports in the early weeks of Ebrahim Raisi's government exceeded 121 million doses. The Ministry wrote sharply: 'Mr. Zarif, it seems you have forgotten that during the twelfth government, the lives of thousands of Iranians became a political toy for you and your government, and in response to the people's protests over delays in vaccine imports, you used the FATF non-joining and sanctions as excuses.' More than four years after the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran, the management of this crisis by Islamic Republic officials remains a hot topic and has even cast a shadow over the current electoral campaigns. Current government officials and some conservative candidates have accused Rouhani's government of negligence in vaccine imports. Alireza Zakani, in one of the televised debates, stated that during Rouhani's government, 800 people died daily due to COVID-19, and the government was unable to manage this crisis. Zakani also claimed that vaccines were imported to Iran only when the country achieved the capability to produce such vaccines domestically. Amir Hossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, another current government official and conservative candidate, also made harsh statements against the previous government in this regard. However, media reports indicated that Zakani's name was on the list of signatories of a letter requesting the non-import of COVID-19 vaccines during the outbreak. Zarif has also stated both during the electoral campaigns and beforehand that it was Rouhani's government that first imported the COVID-19 vaccine to Iran. He said at an election rally: 'They keep saying I lie and give false statistics; you say you brought the vaccine, is the vaccine a dye barrel?' Zarif addressed government officials, adding: 'The vaccines you administered in Shahrivar (September) were imported by us in Mordad (August). We have not forgotten the letter you wrote to prevent foreign vaccines from entering the country; the truth exposes the lies of liars.' According to official statistics, the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Iran is reported to be around 145,498, but unofficial statistics suggest this number could be three times higher. While current government officials hold Rouhani's government responsible for these deaths, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, in a televised speech in January 2021, banned the import of Western COVID-19 vaccines, which had been developed earlier than others at that time. Khamenei stated: 'If the Americans had been able to, they would have made a vaccine; their situation would not be like this.' Meanwhile, Pfizer, as an American company, was able to produce the first effective vaccine for the coronavirus in an unprecedented time of less than a year, and the vaccination with this vaccine had begun in several countries a few weeks prior with the approval of global experts. Khamenei's statements sparked public outrage and protests in Iran. Instead of responding to this issue, the government resorted to suppressing protesters and arrested several lawyers and civil activists known as 'health seekers' who intended to file a complaint against the Supreme Leader, and they were tried 'in secret.' Some experts have stated that the greed of companies affiliated with the office of the Supreme Leader for massive profits from the production and sale of COVID-19 vaccines was the main reason for Khamenei's decision to ban vaccine imports. Hassan Rouhani also, in a statement on Tuesday, which was shared on social media, indirectly criticized the officials of the Executive Headquarters of Imam's Command as the main producers of the 'Iranian vaccine' and said: 'Some said do not buy any vaccines at all; we will give you 50 million doses in Mordad or Shahrivar.' He emphasized without mentioning the Supreme Leader's role in the vaccine import saga: 'They lie that we produced and injected vaccines domestically, and then they gave us vaccines. The domestic vaccine received injection approval at the end of Khordad 1400 (June 2021). We imported foreign vaccines in Bahman 1399 (February 2021) and injected them into the medical staff.'