Full Breakdown
Iran’s Pharmaceutical Sector Grapples with Widespread Shortages Amid War, Sanctions and Blockade
By Drooid · · How we work
Overview of the Shortage
Iran is experiencing shortages of hundreds of medicines, including roughly 90 drugs classified as essential or life-saving. Domestic production accounts for about 400 of the scarce items, but reliance on imported raw materials means local manufacturing has not insulated the sector. The war with the United States, now in its seventh month, has compounded supply-chain disruptions, leading to a near-six-fold price hike for basic drugs and collapsing distribution networks.
Causes: Conflict, Sanctions and Naval Blockade
The United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and cargo vessels in April, briefly lifted after a framework agreement, then reinstated when talks collapsed. In late August, Washington launched “Operation Economic Outcast,” further restricting Tehran’s access to international financial networks. Although medicines and humanitarian goods are formally exempt from direct sanctions, banking restrictions, foreign-currency transfer difficulties and blocked transport routes have prevented Iranian companies from purchasing drugs and raw materials abroad.
Scale of Shortages and Price Increases
- Price spikes: According to Mehr state news agency, gabapentin rose 220 % over a year, paracetamol 375 %, amoxicillin 285 % and fluoxetine 100 %; insulin prices have reached six times the previous year’s level.
- Financial burden: Salman Es’haghi, a member of parliament’s health commission, notes that more than 70 % of healthcare costs are paid directly out of patients’ pockets.
- Production attacks: Mehdi Pirsalehi, head of Iran’s Food and Drug Organisation, reported that 44 companies in the medicines and medical-equipment sector have been targeted in attacks since the war began, with staff killed or wounded.
Official Statements & Responses
Hadi Ahmadi, spokesperson for the Iranian Pharmacists Association, told domestic media that around 400 of the scarce medicines are produced domestically, underscoring the sector’s dependence on imported inputs. Ruhollah Lak Aliabadi, member of parliament’s health commission, said access problems for imported inputs are feeding directly into production and distribution failures. Vahideh Mahmoudkhani, head of the health department at Iran’s trade centre in Shanghai, explained that the war has completely shut down some supply routes and lengthened others, leaving even some medicines “stuck in transit.” Tehran maintains that the pharmaceutical industry continues to operate and that some shortages have eased since the war began.
Impact on Patients
Ahmad Ariayi Nejad, also on the health commission, warned that financial pressure is already reducing clinic attendance, citing a labourer who must pay roughly 74 million tomans for two monthly injections—a sum equivalent to several months’ wages. He added that treatment interruptions for heart disease or cancer are often irreversible.
> “Some people, because of economic hardship and lack of financial means, abandon their treatment part-way through.” — Ariayi Nejad
