Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian said on Saturday that Iraq has agreed to donate $ 125 million of frozen Iranian funds to a European bank to buy 16 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine. 

However, Iraq did not confirm this step in any way, the Middle East Eye reported.

State news agency IRNA quoted Ardakanian as saying that Iraqi payments will go towards the purchase of vaccines as part of the World Health Organization-sponsored COVAX global vaccine sharing plan.

Iran has the highest incidence of Covid-19 in the Middle East, with 2,893,218 cases and 79,741 deaths as of May 29. Tehran has repeatedly complained that US sanctions are preventing it from paying for vaccines.

However, no confirmation has been received from Iraqi officials about the release of the money.

While negotiating with world powers in Vienna to renew its 2015 nuclear deal, Tehran has demanded the release of $ 20 billion of its oil revenues, which it says has been frozen in countries like Iraq, South Korea, and China due to US sanctions since 2018.