Alireza Zali Accused of Undermining Public Opinion and Making ‘Anti-Security’ Statements
FARS News Agency, on behalf of its audience, has called for the trial of Alireza Zali and accused this Health Ministry official of undermining public opinion and making “anti-security” statements during the coronavirus crisis. However, citizens hold Khamenei responsible for people’s deaths.
While many citizens and social media users hold Ayatollah Khamenei responsible for depriving people of vaccines and blame him for the deaths of hundreds of thousands, media outlets close to military and Revolutionary Guard circles have criticized the recent statements of the Tehran coronavirus headquarters commander, describing Alireza Zali’s remarks as “verbal recklessness,” “anti-security,” and “untrustworthy.”
FARS News Agency writes: “Zali has denied his previous statements and those of his affiliated apparatus, and it should be asked of him if his previous statements were not consistent with reality, why should his statements today be trusted?”
The leader of the Islamic Republic, in his latest speech, called coronavirus the country’s primary issue and sought to secure vaccines by any means, whether through domestic production or imports. He, who had banned the import of American and British vaccines in December 2020, claimed that before domestic vaccine production, foreign sellers, despite vaccine payments, were “breaching their commitments.”
These statements unlocked the tongues of several health officials, including the commander of Tehran’s coronavirus response headquarters. Alireza Zali said that under the pretext of expensive vaccines, they were not allowed to purchase and import, but instead 720 million euros was spent on obtaining Remdesivir.
Zali’s remarks caused widespread controversy and were described as an earthquake in the media. He then tried to modify his disclosures about obstruction in vaccine imports or mismanagement of coronavirus and announced that his remarks were not official and had been cut out of context.
In his statements, Zali warned of inefficiency in controlling the pandemic and said that Iran’s vaccine stock was only sufficient for five days. FARS writes: “Follow-ups with officials of the Food and Drug Organization show that we currently have about 15 days of vaccine reserves, and the process of securing vaccines from domestic and foreign sources is continuously ongoing.”
The news agency asked the Health Minister to explain or defend the honesty of the coronavirus headquarters’ decision-making. FARS’s report states: “According to the law, do Zali’s statements, which today are a sign of dishonesty and yesterday perhaps, not carry suspicions of sabotage and anti-security activities? Is there a higher value than people’s trust in the ruling system? In this destruction that has occurred, who should be held accountable? The question is, if a media outlet had published such matters, would it not rightfully be summoned to court? Does such a level of verbal recklessness exist for one manager anywhere in the world, especially in such circumstances? It is natural that today people expect the judicial system, as the public prosecutor and in defense of social trust, to summon Mr. Zali and hold him accountable in court for what he has said.”
While media outlets such as FARS are busy whitewashing the issue, the Red Crescent spokesman confirmed on a television program that until April 2021 there was no permission to import vaccines, and there is still no permission for importing coronavirus drugs produced in Australia.
Discussion about the consequences of the vaccine import ban continues among health and medical officials. Mohammad Reza Zafarqandi, head of the Iran Medical Association, questioned in a tweet: “Are those who issued a statement to restrict vaccine entry accountable today?”
This is while Ibrahim Raisi’s proposed candidate for the Health Ministry is among those who signed a letter to Hassan Rouhani opposing the entry of American, British, and French vaccines. In this letter, published in December 2020, it stated: “It is expected of Your Excellency that, in addition to announcing the ban on vaccine imports from the three countries of America, Britain, and France… ensure that vaccines produced by these countries and any vaccines produced by unreliable centers, through intermediation by a third country, do not enter the country, and that some vaccines related to the COVAX mechanism, which has a dubious nature and suspected connection to completely problematic international developments, are not purchased.”
Source: DW
