BY: SANI MAGAJI GARKO, KANO
The Islamic Republic of Iran is facing a growing medicine shortage, with about 800 pharmaceutical products reportedly in short supply nationwide, including around 90 considered essential or life-saving, as tighter U.S. sanctions, financial restrictions, war-related disruptions and a maritime blockade place increasing pressure on the country’s healthcare system.
Hadi Ahmadi, spokesman for the Iranian Pharmacists Association, said the shortages include medicines produced domestically as well as imported drugs. About 400 of the medicines reportedly in short supply are manufactured inside Iran, highlighting the wider problems affecting pharmaceutical production rather than an issue limited to imports.
The shortages have also pushed up prices. Iranian reports indicate that some medicines could become up to three times more expensive, as pharmaceutical companies struggle to obtain foreign currency, raw materials and reliable international supply routes.
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The crisis comes as Washington intensifies its economic campaign against Tehran. The United States has expanded sanctions designed to restrict Iran’s access to international financial networks and foreign currency, while a U.S. naval campaign aimed at restricting Iranian oil exports has further disrupted trade and shipping.
Reuters reported that Iran’s oil loadings had fallen sharply, reducing the country’s access to foreign currency needed to finance imports. Iranian officials have also acknowledged that imports have been hit harder than exports, while sanctions-evasion networks have become increasingly expensive to operate.
Although medicines and humanitarian goods are generally subject to exemptions under U.S. sanctions, the exemptions have not prevented serious difficulties in getting pharmaceutical products into Iran.
Banks, insurers, shipping companies and international suppliers can be reluctant to deal with Iranian entities because of the risk of sanctions, making it more difficult for Iranian importers to transfer money, obtain raw materials and arrange transportation.
The current blockade and disruption of maritime routes have compounded those difficulties. Iran’s ports and trading centres have experienced sharp declines in commercial activity, while imports from countries such as India and Pakistan have also been affected.
The pharmaceutical sector is particularly vulnerable because many Iranian medicines depend on imported active ingredients, specialised materials, packaging components or equipment. Disruption at any stage of the supply chain can therefore affect medicines manufactured inside the country.
The war has added another layer of pressure. Damage to infrastructure, restrictions on transportation and higher shipping and insurance costs have made it more difficult to move pharmaceutical supplies through the region.
Analysts have warned that medicines requiring reliable and rapid transport, including insulin and other temperature-sensitive products, are particularly vulnerable to supply-chain disruption.
Iran’s economic problems are also contributing to the crisis. The country is experiencing severe currency pressure and high inflation, making imported medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients increasingly expensive.
Iranian authorities, however, have disputed suggestions that the country is facing a total pharmaceutical collapse. Officials have said shortages have been reduced from earlier levels and that substantial reserves exist for many medicines. Iranian parliamentary health officials have also rejected descriptions of the situation as a full-scale medicine crisis.
The conflicting assessments mean that the most accurate description is not that Iran has “run out of medicine”, but that shortages of hundreds of individual medicines are becoming increasingly serious, with some essential and life-saving products particularly affected.
The consequences could be severe for patients suffering from chronic and life-threatening diseases. Interruptions in access to medicines such as insulin, cancer treatments, cardiovascular drugs and other specialised therapies can quickly become a major public-health concern.
The latest developments have also coincided with Washington’s further tightening of sanctions. On September 8, the United States imposed 36 additional Iran-related sanctions, mainly targeting the aviation sector and companies accused of helping Tehran procure aircraft and sensitive technology. The measures are part of a wider campaign aimed at isolating Iran economically.
Britain has separately announced new sanctions against Iran, including restrictions on access to its financial system and wider trade controls, following the reimposition of UN sanctions under the nuclear “snapback” mechanism.
For Iran’s healthcare sector, the central problem is therefore the combination of pressures: sanctions, restricted banking channels, loss of foreign currency, disrupted shipping, higher transport costs, shortages of pharmaceutical raw materials, domestic economic weaknesses and the ongoing war.
While Washington maintains humanitarian exemptions for medicines, the broader sanctions environment can nevertheless make legitimate medical trade considerably more difficult and expensive.
The worsening shortages have consequently become another measure of the humanitarian cost of the expanding U.S.-Iran confrontation. Unless supply routes, financial channels and access to pharmaceutical ingredients improve, Iranian patients could face higher prices and increasingly limited access to essential medicines as the conflict and economic blockade continue.