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US approves Iranian funds transfer to buy COVID vaccines, says Iran central bank chief

Iranian officials have argued US sanctions have hampered their ability to make payments for overseas vaccines.

KIRKLAND, WA - DECEMBER 28: Pharmacists prepare doses of COVID-19 vaccines at the Life Care Center of Kirkland on December 28, 2020 in Kirkland, Washington. The Life Care Center of Kirkland, a nursing home, was an early epicenter for coronavirus outbreaks in the U.S. (Photo by Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
Pharmacists prepare doses of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Life Care Center of Kirkland on Dec. 28, 2020 in Kirkland, Washington. — Karen Ducey/Getty Images

The United States has approved the overseas transfer of funds from an Iranian bank to pay for coronavirus vaccines, the regime’s central bank chief says. Sanctions are technically not supposed to affect medicine, and this will allow Tehran to avoid some of the corollary damage US restrictions on Iran's financial institutions have caused when it comes to the Islamic Republic's medical sector.

Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati told state TV last week that the approval follows the “pressure of world public opinion” and comes as the country’s daily death toll from the virus fell to a three-month low. 

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