Spokesman for parliament's health commission says Iran faces a serious and critical drug shortage

Salman Es'haghi, spokesman for the health and treatment commission of Iran's parliament, said in an interview with the Khaneh Mellat news agency republished on Monday, 27 July 2026 (5 Mordad 1405), that the country currently faces a serious and critical shortage of medicines.

He added that problems securing imported raw materials are also pushing drug prices higher, and that special support for pharmaceutical manufacturers and technology firms is needed if quality medicines are to remain available at reasonable prices. He said sanctions had already damaged the health sector and drug supply before the war, and that tighter restrictions during the war increased the pressure further.

Es'haghi said the health commission has warned the government that a documented, specific and workable roadmap must be drawn up to offset the effects of sanctions and the war on the health sector. Supply of pharmaceutical raw materials depends on access to foreign currency and import routes, and the bottleneck also feeds into the cost base of pharmaceutical companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange.