Page 6 - IRANRptDec20

Trump has used “maximum pressure” sanctions against Iran since pulling out of the nuclear pact.
One obstacle to Biden taking the US back into the deal might be an insistence from Tehran that it is compensated for the economic damage wrought by the Trump sanctions.
2.2​ ​Iran to rely on foreign coronavirus vaccines while work continues on developing its own
Iran is planning to rely on foreign coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines while also developing its own, President Hassan Rouhani said on November 23 as new daily cases hit another record high in the country.
“Relying on its scientists, Iran will be capable of making vaccines domestically... To ensure the people’s health, the government will use domestic capacities and it has also taken ... measures to buy vaccines from countries that have by now developed safe ones,” Rouhani was quoted as saying according to state media.
Health Minister Saeed Namaki has said that four Iranian companies were developing coronavirus vaccines. Two vaccines from the companies were expected to be authorised within days for clinical trials, state news agency IRNA reported.
Earlier this week, the news agency reported the director of the Virology Research Group of Iran’s Pasteur Institute, Kayhan Azadmanesh, as saying that Iran would have a locally developed coronavirus vaccine ready for distribution by mid-2021.
Iran registered a record 13,843 new COVID-19 cases and a near-record 469 deaths in the past 24-hour cycle, the health ministry said on November 25. The cumulative total of cases now stood at 894,385 and the total death toll was 46,207.
Authorities in Tehran have previously shown interest in the Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, but the government has said it would hold off purchasing the product until the World Health Organisation (WHO) has vetted it as safe for use.
Tehran and other cities have been placed on a 6pm curfew for the next two weeks as the country grapples with increasing rates of infection from what is seen as the third wave of the pandemic in Iran.
Cities are separated into three colour groups for infection rates (orange, yellow and red). ‘Red cities’ have the strictest lockdown measures.
2.3​ ​Draft bill passed by Iranian MPs instructs government to raise uranium enrichment target
Iranian MPs on December 1 voted in favour of a draft bill requiring the government to pursue uranium enrichment of 20% and not comply with other restraints placed on Iran’s nuclear development programme by the 2015 nuclear deal with major powers.
6​ IRAN Country Report December 2020 www.intellinews.com