Asia

South Korea to Provide Iran With 1Mln Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine, Reports Say

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - South Korea will soon offer 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Iran for humanitarian reasons to help solve the problem of vaccine shortages, South Korean media reported Monday, citing the foreign ministry.
Sputnik
South Korea is planning to deliver the vaccines to Iran on Wednesday to help the Middle Eastern nation's COVID-19 vaccination campaign, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Diplomatic relations between the two nations remain strained as South Korea deposited 6 billion US dollars it owed Iran for deliveries of Iranian oil in banks and could not transfer them to Iran due to US sanctions.
The South Korean authorities have unequivocally stated that they will take steps to transfer their payments for the supply of Iranian oil only in full cooperation with the United States.
FILE PHOTO: Vials labelled "AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine" placed on displayed EU flag are seen in this illustration picture
This formally meant that payments would be sent to Iran only after the US lifted sanctions.
Last month, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held telephone talks with his Iranian counterpart and promised to make efforts to solve the problem of Tehran's frozen funds and cooperate with Iran to help the country overcome the humanitarian crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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