Iran will begin Covid-19 vaccinations in the coming weeks, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday.
He said foreign vaccines were "a necessity until local vaccines are available", without giving details about what vaccines would be used.
This month, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, banned the government from importing vaccines from the US and Britain,
He accused the countries of possibly seeking to spread the infection to other countries.
Mr Rouhani, in compliance with Mr Khamenei's ban, said at the time that his government would purchase "safe foreign vaccines".
Iran began human trials of its first domestic potential vaccine late last month, saying this could help it defeat the pandemic despite US sanctions that affect its ability to import vaccines.
“There have been good movements in the field of local and foreign vaccines,” Mr Rouhani said.
Vaccinations involving three domestic vaccines – Barekat, Pasteur and Razi, some of which were developed with foreign collaboration – could begin in the spring or the summer, he said.
Coronavirus around the world in pictures
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Health workers are seen in protective gear inside a locked down portion of the Jordan residential area in Hong Kong, China. Reuters -
A person sits on a hillside as cars are lined up with people waiting to receive vaccines at a mass Covid-19 vaccination site at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. AFP -
California has become the first state in the nation to record 3 million known coronavirus infections. AFP -
Pat Fischer, 94, talks to Marguerite Crockem before receiving the coronavirus disease vaccine at the Brightwater Senior Living community in Highland, California. Reuters -
President Biden warned the nation to prepare for its darkest days in the yearlong pandemic, predicting that as many as 100,000 more Americans will die over the next month. Bloomberg -
Police officers stand guard behind a barrier in an area under lockdown in the Jordan area of Hong Kong, China. Bloomberg -
People cross a street in front of the closed Huanan Seafood wholesale market in Wuhan. AFP -
US President Joe Biden adjusts his face mask while speaking about his administration's plans to respond to the economic crisis. Reuters -
People wave flags as they listen to the speeches of leaders during an anti-Israel rally organized by the religious and political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease continues, in Karachi, Pakistan. Reuters -
People wearing face masks walk past the Olympic Rings in Tokyo, Japan. Getty Images -
People ride a motorbike on a street in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. EPA -
The airplane carrying two million doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines against the coronavirus disease from India lands at Galeao Air Base in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Reuters -
A municipal worker wearing protective gear has his body sprayed with disinfectant after he carried a coffin of Covid-19 coronavirus related victim to the crematorium at the public cemetery in Colombo, Sri Lanka. EPA -
A worker adds finishing touches to giant mural tribute to frontline workers in the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic outside a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AP
Cuba said this month that it signed an accord with Iran to transfer the technology for its most advanced vaccine and carry out last-stage clinical trials of the shot in Iran.
Tehran and Havana are under tough US sanctions that, while medicine is exempt, often deter foreign pharmaceutical companies from trading with them.
In addition to developing its own vaccine, Iran is participating in the UN's Covax initiative that aims to secure fair access to Covid-19 vaccines for poorer countries.
The country has recorded 1,150,000 cases and 57,000 deaths, according to government data. There has been a decline in recent weeks of new infections and fatalities.
