War, sanctions and inflation leave Iran short of hundreds of medicines

Iran’s pharmaceutical sector is confronting a severe crisis as the war with the United States enters its seventh month, compounded by sanctions, a naval blockade and a sharp depreciation of the rial. Prices for basic medicines have surged dramatically—paracetamol up 375%, amoxicillin 285%, gabapentin 220% and insulin up to six times its previous cost—while shortages now affect roughly 90 essential or life‑saving drugs and an estimated 400 medicines that are produced domestically but rely on imported raw materials. More than 70% of healthcare expenses are paid out of pocket, leaving many patients unable to afford treatment, and the shortage has been exacerbated by attacks on 44 companies in the medicines and medical equipment sector, including the missile‑hit firm Tofigh Daru, which was accused—though it denies—of supplying fentanyl for non‑medical purposes.

The root of the crisis lies in disrupted supply chains caused by the U.S. naval blockade imposed in April, the brief lift and subsequent reinstatement of that blockade, and the broader “Operation Economic Outcast” launched in late August to cut Tehran’s access to international financial networks. Even though humanitarian goods like medicines are formally exempt from sanctions, banking restrictions and difficulties in transferring foreign currency have prevented Iranian firms from purchasing essential raw materials abroad. Iranian officials, including Hadi Ahmadi of the Pharmacists Association and MP Ruhollah Lak Aliabadi, note that imported inputs are now bottlenecked, with some shipments stalled in transit and others forced onto longer, riskier routes, such as those through Shanghai, further inflating costs and delaying production.

The impact on the population is stark: patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer are forced to abandon or delay treatment due to unaffordable prices, a trend observed by MPs Ahmad Ariayi Nejad and Salman Es’haghi, who report declining clinic attendance and the financial strain of routine injections costing tens of millions of tomans—equivalent to several months’ wages for many. While Tehran claims that the industry remains operational and that some shortages have eased, the combination of price hikes, supply chain breakdowns and direct attacks on pharmaceutical facilities suggests a prolonged humanitarian challenge that could deepen health inequities and exacerbate the nation’s broader economic crisis.

⚡ Effects Interpreter