Salman Eshaqi, spokesperson for the Health and Treatment Commission of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), described the country’s drug shortage as a “serious and critical” issue. At the same time, Jafar Miadfar, head of the Iranian regime’s Emergency Medical Services Organization, said there is no concern about supplying intravenous fluids and medicines needed for Arbaeen pilgrims.
On Monday, July 27, Eshaqi cited “unjust sanctions” and the “war” as the main factors worsening the drug crisis and said difficulties in securing imported raw materials have also driven up medicine prices.
He stressed that domestic production capacity and pharmaceutical technology development centers should be strengthened to reduce the sector’s vulnerability.
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The regime lawmaker added: “Damaged infrastructure can be rebuilt, but there is one vital infrastructure whose neglect can cause irreparable damage and even result in patients’ deaths, and that is the sustainable supply of medicines and the public’s easy access to them.”
On July 24, Homayoun Sameh Najafabadi, a member of the Health Commission of the Iranian regime’s Majlis, cited the “naval blockade and transportation disruptions” as factors increasing costs and complicating the shipment of medicines. He said delays in allocating foreign currency, combined with liquidity shortages, have created further obstacles to drug imports.
These remarks come as Khabar Online, an Iranian news website, reported on July 26, citing Rasoul Nazari-Fard, founder of a pharmacy specializing in patients with rare diseases, that many patients must visit several pharmacies to find certain medications, while those same drugs are readily available on the black market, through intermediary networks, and on social media.
Nazari-Fard stressed that part of the pharmaceutical market’s problems stem not from production but from the distribution system and weak oversight of medicine supplies.
He continued: “The access of numerous individuals to certain systems, along with insufficient oversight, can facilitate the issuance of fake or fraudulent prescriptions, which ultimately result in medicines being obtained through the official distribution network and then sold on the black market.”
Iranian regime officials emphasize medicine supplies for the Arbaeen Ceremony
Amid warnings about medicine shortages in Iran, the head of the Emergency Medical Services Organization announced on July 27 that the necessary measures have been taken to supply medicines and intravenous fluids needed for Arbaeen pilgrims.
Miadfar said: “During the recent funeral ceremony [of Ali Khamenei], we had no problems supplying intravenous fluids, and we are also fully prepared for the Arbaeen period.”
He announced that the Health Ministry has introduced special measures to prevent heatstroke among participants in the Arbaeen pilgrimage, which marks the 40th day after the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the third Imam of Shia Muslims. He added that necessary medicine stocks have been positioned at Iran’s six border crossings and that about 300,000 units of intravenous fluids have been allocated for the event.
Earlier, on July 19, Pirhossein Kolivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, announced that sufficient medicines and medical equipment had been supplied and dispatched for the Arbaeen ceremonies, and that five hospitals in Iraq along the route from Najaf to Karbala have been made available to Iranian medical teams to provide healthcare services.
