Made in Iran!

This photograph captures a moment that had been eagerly anticipated for months. On June 25, 2021, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution received his first dose of the "COVIran Barekat" vaccine – a domestically produced vaccine that made Iran the sixth country in the world to produce a COVID-19 vaccine, following China, India, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Ayatollah Khamenei volunteered to receive this specific vaccine to demonstrate that the domestic product was entirely reliable and safe.

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, there was immense concern regarding the Leader's health, and he was repeatedly urged to vaccinate himself as early as possible with whatever vaccine that was available. However, he refused. Explaining his reasoning, he stated:

"I was not inclined to use a non-Iranian vaccine. I said I would wait for the Iranian vaccine, because we must honor this national achievement. As long as we have the means for prevention and treatment at home, why shouldn't we use them?"

He had also emphasized that he would only receive the vaccine in due course, according to the regular prioritization schedule. That time had now come, as the vaccination campaign for Iranians over the age of 80 had just begun.

After receiving the vaccine, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution expressed his gratitude to the scientists whose hard work had produced it – a team with an average age of under thirty. He asked them to prepare and publish the scientific articles and documentation of this achievement so that the world could read and see it.

What makes this image especially meaningful is the context in which it occurred. At the time, Iran was under the harshest sanctions. The transfer of medicine and medical equipment into the country was severely obstructed, even as the sanctioning powers officially claimed that humanitarian aid channels remained open. The moment Iran issued a license for its domestic vaccine, the then-President of the United States announced that America was ready to send vaccines to Iran. This sudden reversal laid bare the true nature of the earlier restrictions.

Trust in domestic capabilities and faith in the potential of the country’s young human resources have been the consistent thread running through the Leader of the Islamic Revolution's worldview over the years. It was an approach that, this time, found physical expression as an Iranian vaccine administered into his own arm. Yet, this was no isolated or momentary decision. Over the years, whenever the wheels of domestic production began to turn, he consistently relied on this same perspective to pave the way for broader public acceptance.