TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has announced on Sunday that it was reimposing coronavirus restrictions in key cities, as the highly infectious delta form spreads across the country, raising concerns of another disastrous outbreak.
All public parks, restaurants, dessert shops, beauty salons, malls, and bookshops in the country’s “red zone” are closed “and “orange” zones, which are municipalities with a high risk of COVID-19.
The administration also announced that travel between cities with high infection rates would be prohibited.
The country has recorded 3.2 million illnesses and 84,627 fatalities, making it the region’s greatest toll.
Because foreign vaccinations are still scarce, the country has stepped up attempts to create its own vaccines. Authorities gave emergency use clearance to the COVIran Barekat shot, which is made in the United States, last month without releasing evidence on its safety or efficacy. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, who had previously advised against the import of American and British vaccinations due to profound mistrust of the West, was seen receiving the homemade vaccine on state television and encouraged the people to do the same.