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A6 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 10 december 2020
Iran says U.S. sanctions hinder access to COVID-19 vaccines

By NASSER KARIMI Associ- bassador to Yemen, Chris-
ated Press topher Henzel, because of
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's his alleged help "in organiz-
President Hassan Rouhani ing, providing financial and
said Wednesday that U.S. arms support" to the Saudi-
sanctions are making it dif- led coalition waging war in
ficult for Iran to purchase Yemen against the coun-
medicine and health sup- try's Houthi rebels.
plies from abroad, includ- Under the measure, which
ing COVID-19 vaccines is mainly symbolic, Henzel
needed to contain the would be denied an Iranian
worst outbreak in the Mid- visa, should he ever apply
dle East. for one. He is also barred
President Donald Trump's from holding any accounts
administration has imposed in Iranian banks and finan-
crippling sanctions on Iran's cial institutions and having
banking sector and its vital financial transactions with
oil and gas industry since Iranian entities.
unilaterally withdrawing the On Tuesday, the Trump
U.S. from Iran's nuclear deal administration said it im-
with world powers in 2018. posed sanctions on Iran's
While the United States in- envoy to Yemen's Houthi
sists that medicines and In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Has- rebels, Hasan Irlu, and the
humanitarian goods are san Rouhani speaks in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. Iranian Al-Mustafa Interna-
exempt from sanctions, Associated Press tional University for alleged
restrictions on trade have recruiting fighters for the
made many banks and times," Rouhani was quot- working on its own vaccine, of lockdown measures seen paramilitary Revolutionary
companies across the ed as saying by the official with testing on human pa- elsewhere in the region, Guard to foment instability
world hesitant to do busi- IRNA news agency. tients expected to begin partly because of concerns in Yemen and in Syria. Iran
ness with Iran, fearing puni- He said even simple trans- next month. It plans to buy it would further exacerbate and the U.S. support oppo-
tive measures from Wash- actions to purchase medi- 20 million vaccine doses an already dire economic site sides in Yemen's con-
ington. The country is also cine from other countries from abroad, for a popula- crisis. The sanctions have flict. In August, Iran imposed
cut off from the internation- had become extremely dif- tion of more than 80 million contributed to a plunge in similar symbolic sanctions
al banking system, making ficult and that it can take people. the country's currency in re- on Richard Goldberg, a
it difficult to transfer pay- "weeks" to transfer funds. Iran has reported more cent years that has caused hawkish former expert with
ments. Rouhani said authorities are than 50,000 deaths from the price of basic goods to the White House National
"Our people should know nevertheless doing what the coronavirus out of more soar and wiped out many Security Council. And in
that for any action we plan they can to buy vaccines than a million confirmed Iranians' life savings. 2017, Iran sanctioned 15
to carry out for importing from abroad, hoping to de- cases — the worst outbreak In a separate develop- American companies over
medicine, vaccines and liver them to high-risk indi- in the Middle East. ment, Iran's foreign ministry their alleged support for
equipment, we should viduals as soon as possible. Authorities have been re- on Wednesday imposed Israel, terrorism and repres-
curse Trump a hundred Last week, Iran said it is luctant to impose the kind sanctions on the U.S. am- sion in the region.q

India experts find traces of lead, nickel in patients' blood

Medical Sciences have not ed convulsing without any chikungunya and herpes.
been able to ascertain the warning, said Geeta Prasa- The patients aren't related
source of excessive nickel dini, a state health official. to each other and don't
and lead particulate mat- Andhra Pradesh Chief all live in the same area.
ter in the patients' blood. Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan They're from different age
Reports from other tests by Reddy held a virtual meet- groups, including about 70
experts at the Indian Insti- ing Wednesday with offi- children, but very few are
tute of Chemical Technol- cials who included experts elderly.
ogy, including toxicology from India's top scientific Initially, contaminated wa-
reports and blood cultures, institutes. Reddy said 502 of ter was suspected. But the
are being awaited, the the people with the illness chief minister's office con-
statement said. have been discharged af- firmed that people who
Health officials and experts ter showing improvement. don't use the municipal
are still baffled by how the The patients showed symp- water supply have also fall-
heavy metals got into the toms ranging from nausea en ill, and that initial tests of
A patient is assisted by others to get down from an ambulance
at the district government hospital in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh patients' blood, and wheth- and anxiety to loss of con- water samples didn't reveal
state, India, Tuesday, Dec.8, 2020. er they are the cause of the sciousness. any harmful chemicals.
Associated Press mysterious illness that has What is confounding ex- A 45-year-old man who
left over 585 people hos- perts is that there doesn't goes by the single name
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian in a southern state, officials pitalized and one person seem to be any common Sridhar was hospitalized
health officials have found said. dead in Andhra Pradesh. link among the hundreds with symptoms resembling
traces of nickel and lead in The Andhra Pradesh state The illness was first detected of people who have fallen epilepsy and died Sun-
a few blood samples taken government said in a state- Saturday evening in Eluru, sick. All of the patients have day evening, doctors said.
from hundreds of patients ment Tuesday night that an ancient city famous for tested negative for the Prasadini said his autopsy
who have been hospital- investigations by experts its handwoven products. coronavirus and other viral didn't shed any light on the
ized by a mysterious illness from the All India Institute of People with the illness start- diseases such as dengue, cause of death.q