An Iranian parliament member says the shortage of drugs in the country has reached a critical stage and that Iran's pharmaceutical industry is on the verge of collapse.
Abdul Hossein Rohalmini said on July 6 that the 13 Aban Pharmacy, the biggest drug distributor in Iran, currently has a shortage of 356 pharmaceutical drugs. He said that if this trend continues the country will face a "severe shortage" of medicines.
WATCH: It's been estimated that 95 percent of the medicine in Afghanistan enters the country illegally. According to an investigation by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, a significant portion of the pharmaceuticals come from Iran and are smuggled into Afghanistan on trucks and buses.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5
Following The Trail Of Smuggled Medicine From Iran To Afghanistan
In March, the parliament voted in favor of cutting subsidies for drugs. State media reported the cash-strapped Iranian government would save some $9 billion annually by reducing drug subsidies.
Although domestic manufacturers supply most of Iran's drugs, much of the raw materials needed for the medicines is imported. Iran also is dependent on imports for most of the drugs needed to treat life-threatening ailments such as cancer and coronary disease.
In late June, Iran's Syndicate of Pharmaceutical Industries warned President Ebrahim Raisi of a critical situation in which pharmaceutical drug production lines could break down starting in July.
Rohalmini also criticized the current health minister, Iraj Harirchi, and previous ones, saying that they should be tried for crimes for failing to "implement general health policies."
The Iranian economy has been devastated by years of harsh economic sanctions imposed by the United States after Washington withdrew from an accord Iran signed with five world powers aimed at curbing Tehran's controversial nuclear program.
The poor economic situation has led hundreds of thousands of people to protest in recent months. Many of the demonstrations have been met by crackdowns from security forces.