Iran’s foreign minister says his ministry is planning to set up a special headquarters in order to speed up the provision of coronavirus vaccines from any country whose standards are approved by Iran’s Health Ministry.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks on Thursday on the sidelines of a cabinet session in Tehran, saying that he will put the issue of coronavirus pandemic on top of his agenda at the ministry.
Noting that a special headquarters will be set up at the Foreign Ministry to facilitate vaccine imports, Amir-Abdollahian said, “We will do our best to import vaccines without any limitation from any country whose vaccines can be transferred into the country and whose scientific standards are confirmed by [Iran’s] Health Ministry.”
He explained that the headquarters’ goal is to activate the potential of all Iranian embassies and the country’s capacities abroad, both in the public and private sectors, to expedite the imports.

Amir-Abdollahian also pointed to the Pakistani foreign minister’s trip to Tehran, saying that one of the issues that would be discussed during his meeting with Shah Mahmood Qureshi is the latest developments in neighboring Afghanistan and the region.

“Plans have been made in line with [our] neighbor- and Asia-oriented policy, which will be announced gradually in the coming days,” the Iranian foreign minister added.

Amir-Abdollahian received the approval of the Iranian lawmakers on Wednesday to replace Mohammad Javad Zarif as Iran’s chief diplomat. He received 270 votes in favor, 10 against and 6 abstentions.