The procurement of medicine in Iran has become a national crisis. Numerous reports indicate that shortages and rising medicine prices have had a significant impact on social and family life. The Iranian regime’s Pharmacists Association and Health Commission have reported: “The country is facing shortages of approximately 400 to 1,000 medicines.”
Like all political and social crises in Iran, this situation has its roots in the management of medicine and healthcare, as well as the government’s priorities in allocating budgets and foreign currency.
Serious Drug Shortage in Iran as Officials Assure Supplies for Arbaeen Pilgrims
Part of the report states: “The management of the medicine market has not been sufficiently stable in recent years. Every week, several new medicines are added to the list of scarce drugs. This issue is not limited to today or the recent wartime conditions. The pharmaceutical industry has been struggling with it for years. In 2025, approximately $3.5 billion was supposed to be allocated to medicines and medical equipment, but by the end of the year, less than 50% of this budget had been realized. In allocating foreign currency, the government should prioritize medicines, particularly psychiatric medications.”
Referring to the deterioration of Iran’s pharmaceutical industry, the report adds: “Iran’s pharmaceutical industry is an old and somewhat worn-out industry that today needs reconstruction and modernization more than ever. We hope that the experience of wars and recent crises will prompt officials to reconsider their policies in this area.”
The pharmaceutical industry has been suffering from a shortage of liquidity for a long time.
“The most important problem in the supply of medicines is the industry’s shortage of liquidity. The pharmaceutical industry currently has outstanding receivables of 2,000 trillion rials (approximately $1 billion) from the government, healthcare centers, and the private sector. The six-month delay in transferring foreign currency is the reason for the medicine shortages this spring.”
A few days ago, Iranian regime president Masoud Pezeshkian awarded the head of the Central Bank a prize and service bonus. This came as the Central Bank has been unable to provide foreign currency for medicines. Regarding foreign currency allocation, the report states: “The provision of foreign currency for medicines has faced difficulties from the Central Bank and Iran’s Center for Exchange of Gold and Currency in recent months, ultimately affecting market distribution and patients’ access… Medicine prices have increased by an average of 68%, while medicines that were removed from eligibility for preferential foreign currency saw price increases ranging from zero to 200% and up to fourfold.”
Unlike the Iranian regime’s government and propaganda apparatus, which constantly portray its achievements in exaggerated propagandistic terms, this report identifies the main cause of the medicine crisis as the absence of proper policy: “The gradual death of the pharmaceutical industry lies in the liquidity gap. Is the Ministry of Health responsible for production or merely a bystander to the crisis? Although Ministry of Health officials speak of continued production under wartime conditions, field evidence points to a structural crisis.”
