Tehran, January 8: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Friday banned Iran from importing of American Pfizer-BioNTech and Britain's Astrazeneca Covid-19 vaccines, a reflection of mistrust toward the West. In a televised speech, he said the import of American and British vaccines were тАЬforbidden,тАЭ referring to the surging death tolls from the virus in both countries.

тАЭI really do not trust,тАЭ them, Khamenei said of those nations. "Sometimes they want to test ,тАЭ their vaccines on other countries, adding, тАЬI am not optimistic (about) France,тАЭ either.

However, Khamenei okayed the import of vaccines from other тАЬsafeтАЭ places, and remains supportive of Iran's efforts toward producing a vaccine. The country began testing its vaccines on humans December. The product is expected to hit the local market in spring.┬аPfizerтАЩs COVID-19 Vaccine Effective Against New Coronavirus Variant Found in Britain and South Africa: Study.

Hardliners in Iran have longed opposed the U.S-made vaccines. Iran's Revolutionary Guard in December rejected the use of foreign-made vaccines altogether.

Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi said the Guard тАЬdoes not recommend the injection of any foreign vaccineтАЭ candidates based on genetic material known as messenger RNA, which carries the instructions for cells to make proteins.

Authorities said then that U.S.-based benefactors plan to deploy scores of thousands of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus to Iran.

Iran retains routes to vaccines despite sanctions, including through its participation in COVAX. International banks and financial institutions are reluctant to deal with Iran for fear of American penalties.