Iran

15 Dec 2020; MEMO: Iran will be ready to administer a locally produced coronavirus vaccine on high-risk patients by July, if the results of the vaccine's clinical trials are positive in January, a health ministry official said.

"Four local companies are currently working to produce a vaccine for coronavirus and the companies' products will begin the clinical trials phase in early January." a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Dr. Sima Sadat Lari, said in a statement yesterday.

15 Dec 2020; MEMO: The latest US move against Turkey is yet another display of its "addiction to sanctions and contempt for international law," Iran's foreign minister said today, Anadolu Agency reports.

"We strongly condemn recent U.S. sanctions against Turkey and stand with its people and government," Javad Zarif said on Twitter, using the hashtag "#NeighborsFirst."

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Sunday summoned the German and French envoys to Tehran after the European Union condemned the execution of an Iranian journalist whose work helped inspire nationwide economic protests in 2017, Iranian state media reported.

IRNA said an Iranian Foreign Ministry official summoned the ambassadors because of EU statements on the exiled reporter Ruhollah Zam, 47, who was hanged on Saturday.

12 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Iranian dissident journalist Ruhollah Zam, who was convicted of fomenting violence during the 2017 anti-government protests, was executed on Saturday, Iran's state television reported.

Iran's Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence of Zam, who was captured in 2019 after years in exile. His Amadnews feed had more than one million followers.

TEHRAN, Dec 9 (NNN-IRNA) – The Iranian government ruled out the possibility of renegotiations over the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The JCPOA was fully discussed in detail five years ago and needs no renegotiations, said Ali Rabiei, spokesman of the Iranian government.

“No new members should join the 2015 nuclear deal,” he noted, responding to the requests of some other states to participate in likely renewed nuclear talks.

TEHRAN, Dec 10 (NNN-IRNA) – Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, called for a reinforcement of Iran’s relations with Azerbaijan, during his meeting with visiting Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, Jeyhun Bayramov.

“We hope we can take advantage of the opportunity created by new international conditions, to further develop relations between the two countries.”

10 Dec 2020; MEMO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the United States does not need time or negotiations to rejoin the 2015 nuclear agreement, only a "signature", the Fars news agency reported.

Speaking at the cabinet meeting yesterday, Rouhani said if the other parties rejoined the nuclear agreement, Iran would also return to all its obligations.

10 Dec 2020; MEMO:  The value of Iran's exports to Arab countries reached $8.565 billion during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year which started in March, the Fars news agency reported a senior trade official saying.

10 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Iranian officials have accused the United States of thwarting its efforts to purchase the coronavirus vaccine, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

The agency said Tehran hoped to use the billions of US dollars held in South Korean won currency to purchase the vaccines under an agreement it had reached with Seoul a few months ago.

TEHRAN, Dec 9 (NNN-ISNA) – Iran’s security services identified and arrested “some people” involved in the recent assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, an adviser to the Iranian parliament speaker, said.

“The perpetrators of this assassination will not escape justice,” the adviser, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, was quoted as saying.

Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, died from severe injuries, in a hospital, on Nov 27, following an armed attack on his car in Absard district, 60 km north-east of the capital Tehran.