Expressions of patriotic praise filled several Iranian media outlets May 6 after the country said its first cargo of 40,000 indigenous COVID-19 testing kits had been exported to Germany. According to the Iranian vice president for science and technology, Sorena Sattari, the delivery was proof that Iran has reached a state of self-sufficiency for the domestic procurement of those kits. He also pushed the bar higher: Millions of such kits are planned to be sent overseas.
The kits were developed by Pishtaz Teb Diagnostics, a company that has been focused on laboratory research and medical diagnosis tools since 1988. The company’s website doesn’t specify its affiliation and funding sources.