Alireza Zali was accused of destroying public opinion and making anti-security statements.

Fars News Agency, on behalf of its audience, has called for the trial of Alireza Zali, accusing the Health Ministry official of destroying public opinion and making “anti-security” statements during the coronavirus crisis. Citizens, however, hold Khamenei responsible for people’s deaths.

While many citizens and social media users hold Ayatollah Khamenei responsible for depriving people of the vaccine and calling him the cause of the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, media outlets close to the IRGC and military circles have criticized the recent remarks of the commander of the Corona headquarters in Tehran, calling Alireza Zali's statements "verbal vandalism," "anti-security," and "unreliable."

Fars News Agency writes: "Zali has denied his previous statements and those of his affiliated apparatus, and he should be asked: If his previous statements were not in line with reality, why should we trust his current statements?"

In his latest speech, the Leader of the Islamic Republic called the coronavirus the country's number one issue and called for the supply of vaccines by any means, whether domestically produced or imported. He, who had banned the import of American and British vaccines in January 2020, claimed that before the domestic vaccine was produced, foreign sellers were "unfairly" paying for the vaccine despite paying the price.

These statements have untied the tongues of a number of health officials, including the commander of the coronavirus response headquarters in Tehran. Alireza Zali said that they did not allow the purchase and import of the vaccine under the pretext of its high cost, but instead 720 million euros were spent on the purchase of remdesivir.

Zali's remarks created a huge controversy and were interpreted as an earthquake in the media. He then tried to tone down the revelations about the obstruction of vaccine imports or the mismanagement of the coronavirus, announcing that his remarks were not official and were cut off.

In his speech, Zali warned of the inefficiency in controlling the pandemic, saying that the vaccine stock in Iran is only enough for five days. Fars writes: “Follow-ups with officials from the Food and Drug Administration show that we currently have about 15 days of vaccine stock, and the process of obtaining vaccines from domestic and foreign sources is ongoing.”

The news agency asked the Minister of Health to explain or defend the honesty of the Corona Headquarters’ decisions. The Fars report states: “Is it legal to have Mr. Zali’s words, which are either a sign of dishonesty today or yesterday, not a sign of sabotage and anti-security? Is there a higher value than the people’s trust in the government? Who should be held accountable for this destruction? The question is, if a media outlet had published such material, wouldn’t it have been rightfully summoned to court? Is there such a level of verbal abuse for a manager anywhere in the world, especially in such circumstances? It is natural that today people are waiting for 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 said.”

Media outlets such as Fars are busy clearing up the issue while the Red Crescent spokesman acknowledged on a television program that until Farvardin 1400, there was no license to import the vaccine, and there is still no license to import the corona drug produced in Australia.

The debate over the consequences of the vaccine import ban continues among health officials. Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, head of Iran's Medical System Organization, asked in a tweet: "Are those who issued statements restricting vaccine imports held accountable today?"

This is while Ebrahim Raisi’s proposed choice for the Ministry of Health is among those who signed a letter to Hassan Rouhani opposing the import of American, British, and French vaccines. The letter, published in January 2020, stated: “In addition to announcing a ban on the import of vaccines from the three countries of the United States, England, and France… you are expected to ensure that vaccines produced by these countries and any vaccines produced by unreliable centers are not imported into the country through the mediation of a third country, and that some vaccines related to the COVAX mechanism, which are of a dubious nature and suspected of being related to completely problematic international trends, are not purchased.”

Source: DW