Iran Cooperates with Cuba to Produce COVID-19 Vaccine

A patient being treated for coronavirus at a hospital in Tehran. Reuters file photo
A patient being treated for coronavirus at a hospital in Tehran. Reuters file photo
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Iran Cooperates with Cuba to Produce COVID-19 Vaccine

A patient being treated for coronavirus at a hospital in Tehran. Reuters file photo
A patient being treated for coronavirus at a hospital in Tehran. Reuters file photo

Iran is co-producing a COVID-19 vaccine with a Cuban company, Spokesperson for the Iran Food and Drug Administration (IFDA) at the Health Ministry Kianoush Jahanpour revealed Friday, while denying that the first batch of vaccine purchased from abroad had reached the country.

“There are four different ways to supply the coronavirus vaccine, including direct purchase from a foreign country, procurement from the World Health Organization’ COVAX facility, a joint production with a Cuban company as well as domestic producing of the vaccine,” the spokesperson said.

He explained that the human trial phase of the vaccine has been carried out successfully in Cuba.

“The second phase of the human trial is being conducted under the supervision of the Pasteur Institute of Iran in Cuba. Provided that the second phase is successful, the third phase will be implemented in mid-March in Iran,” Jahanpour said.

Meanwhile, the Jamaran website published photos of Iranians protesting near the Health Ministry the purchase of foreign-made vaccines.

One protester wrote on a sign, “No to local-made vaccines, No to foreign-made vaccines.”

The website said the protest coincided with the announcement of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi that an agreement was reached with China, India and Russia for buying 20 million vaccine doses.

Coordinating Deputy Commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Brigadier-General Mohammdreza Naghdi said companies producing COVID-19 vaccines believe that the world is over-populated and there is evidence that they want to reduce the world population by 20 percent.

“There is evidence that these companies have manipulated the vaccine itself and contaminated it. How can one trust them in such circumstances?" Naghdi asked.

Spokeswoman for the Iranian Ministry of Health Sima Sadat Lari said the country recorded 6,286 daily coronavirus cases on Friday, raising the total infections to 1,231,429.



Danish Leader Tells the US ‘You Cannot Annex Another Country’ as She Visits Greenland

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's acting head of government Mute Bourup Egede attend a press conference aboard the Danish Navy inspection vessel Vaedderen, in the waters around Nuuk, Greenland, April 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's acting head of government Mute Bourup Egede attend a press conference aboard the Danish Navy inspection vessel Vaedderen, in the waters around Nuuk, Greenland, April 3, 2025. (Reuters)
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Danish Leader Tells the US ‘You Cannot Annex Another Country’ as She Visits Greenland

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's acting head of government Mute Bourup Egede attend a press conference aboard the Danish Navy inspection vessel Vaedderen, in the waters around Nuuk, Greenland, April 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's acting head of government Mute Bourup Egede attend a press conference aboard the Danish Navy inspection vessel Vaedderen, in the waters around Nuuk, Greenland, April 3, 2025. (Reuters)

Denmark's prime minister has told the US during a visit to Greenland that “you cannot annex another country,” even with the argument that international security is at stake.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, meanwhile, said on Friday that Washington will respect Greenland's self-determination and Copenhagen “should focus on the fact that the Greenlanders don’t want to be a part of Denmark.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was wrapping up a three-day visit to the strategically critical Arctic island on Friday as US President Donald Trump seeks control of Greenland. He argues that Greenland, a semiautonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark, is critical to US security.

A week ago, Vice President JD Vance visited a remote US military base in Greenland and accused Denmark of underinvesting in the territory.

Frederiksen pushed back against the US criticism as she spoke on Thursday alongside Greenland's incoming and outgoing leaders on board a Danish naval ship. She argued that Denmark, a NATO ally, has been a reliable friend.

Speaking in English, she said that “if we let ourselves be divided as allies, then we do our foes a favor. And I will do everything that I can to prevent that from happening.”

“When you ask our businesses to invest in the US, they do. When you ask us to spend more on our defense, we do; and when you ask of us to strengthen security in the Arctic, we are on the same page,” she said.

“But when you demand to take over a part of the Kingdom of Denmark’s territory, when we are met by pressure and by threats from our closest ally, what are we to believe in about the country that we have admired for so many years?”

“This is about the world order that we have built together across the Atlantic over generations: you cannot annex another country, not even with an argument about international security,” Frederiksen said.

The Danish leader said that, if the US wants to strengthen security in the Arctic, “let us do so together.”

Political parties in Greenland, which has been leaning toward eventual independence from Denmark for years, last week agreed to form a broad-based new coalition government in the face of Trump's designs on the territory. Those have angered many in Greenland and Denmark.

In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday, Vance repeated the accusation that Denmark has “really underinvested in the infrastructure and security of Greenland.”

He said Trump's point is that “this matters to our security, this matters to our missile defense, and we're going to protect America's interests come hell or high water.”

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who was attending a meeting in Brussels with his NATO counterparts, wrote on social network X that he had an “honest and direct” meeting Thursday with Rubio.

“I made it crystal clear that claims and statements about annexing Greenland are not only unacceptable and disrespectful,” Løkke Rasmussen wrote. “They amount to a violation of international law.”

Rubio told reporters in Brussels Friday that “no one's annexed anything.” He added that Vance has made clear that “he's going to respect the self-determination of Greenlanders.”

“Denmark should focus on the fact that the Greenlanders don’t want to be a part of Denmark," Rubio said.

“We didn’t give them that idea. They’ve been talking about that for a long time,” he said. "Whenever they make that decision, they’ll make that decision.”

“If they make that decision, then the United States would stand ready, potentially, to step in and say, okay, we can create a partnership with you," Rubio said, adding that "we’re not at that stage.”