CAIRO, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Thursday received a shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine it jointly developed with Cuba for the Phase 3 clinical trials. Meanwhile, the prime ministers of Israel, Hungary and Czech Republic discussed vaccine cooperation.

The shipment included 100,000 doses of the Soberana 02 COVID-19 vaccine, co-developed by Cuba's Finlay Institute and Iran's Pasteur Institute.

"Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials (of the vaccine) were carried out successfully in Havana under the supervision of the Pasteur Institute of Iran and, given the positive results ... the Phase 3 will be carried out simultaneously in Cuba and Iran," Iran's Food and Drug Administration said in a statement.

Iran reported 8,308 new COVID-19 infections and 88 new deaths related to the coronavirus on Thursday, raising the tally of confirmed cases in the country to 1,723,470 and the death toll to 61,016.

The total number of COVID-19 patients having recovered reached 1,471,179, with 3,818 still in critical condition.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban and Czech counterpart Andrej Babis on Thursday to discuss advancing cooperation in the research, development and production of vaccines.

They discussed the reciprocal acknowledgment of green passports and a possible integration of the Czech Republic and Hungary into an international initiative to build a vaccine production facility in Israel.

Israel's Ministry of Health reported 2,698 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, raising the tally of confirmed cases to 813,806.

The death toll from COVID-19 in Israel reached 5,963 after 20 new fatalities were added, while the total recoveries climbed by 4,689 to 773,034.

Turkey reported 14,046 new COVID-19 cases, including 821 with symptoms, and 63 more deaths, taking its tally of infections to 2,835,989 and its death toll to 29,290.

The tally of recoveries increased to 2,659,093, according to Turkish Health Ministry, which said a total of 7.83 million people have been vaccinated so far, including 2.72 million who have got two shots of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine.

In Iraq, the health ministry confirmed 5,170 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total nationwide infections to 745,642.

It also reported 26 new deaths, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 13,671, while the total recoveries in Iraq climbed by 3,057 to 674,345.

The Iraqi Higher Committee for Health and National Safety decided to require school students to continue their online learning to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.

Lebanon registered 3,518 new COVID-19 cases, raising its total infections to 408,909, while the coronavirus-related death count rose by 50 to 5,230. The tally of recoveries in Lebanon went up by 829 to 319,629.

Morocco announced on Thursday 464 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total tally in the North African country to 487,750.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 474,257 after 519 more were added, while its death toll rose by seven to 8,712.

A total of 4,130,606 people in Morocco have received the first vaccine shot against COVID-19, including 972,079 who have received the second dose.

Morocco launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm vaccines.

Jordan reported 8,300 new coronavirus infections and 63 more fatalities from the virus, bringing its total cases to 457,151 and its death toll to 5,169. The tally of recoveries from the disease in Jordan rose by 3,644 to 382,949.

Kuwait reported 1,505 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 205,893.

The Kuwaiti Health Ministry also announced four more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,148. The tally of recoveries in Kuwait soared by 1,080 to 190,235, while 14,510 coronavirus-related patients are receiving treatment.

The Qatari health ministry announced 468 new COVID-19 infections and 323 more recoveries, raising the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 168,829 and the tally of recoveries to 157,242.

The total number of COVID-19 fatalities in Qatar remained at 264, the ministry said in a statement.