Amid Shortages, Iran Claims No Budget Problem To Import Medicine
The Central Bank of Iran announced that it has allocated nearly $3 billion since March to imports medicines, pharmaceutical raw materials, and medical equipment and supplies.
The Central Bank of Iran announced that it has allocated nearly $3 billion since March to imports medicines, pharmaceutical raw materials, and medical equipment and supplies.
However, reports from Iran in recent weeks have indicated shortages of medicine and a sudden increase in the price of cancer drugs.
Mostafa Qamarivafa, the director of public relations in Iran’s Central Bank, said that $2.2 billion of the allocated amount has already been spent since the beginning of the Iranian year (starting March 21, 2023). In the government-controlled Iranian economy, the state subsidizes the imports of medicine by offering cheaper dollars for imports.
Also, a total of $156,000,000 of preferential currency subsidy has been allocated this year to import powdered milk, raw materials and health supplements, Qamarivafa added. However, there are reports of shortages of baby formula and a rationing at pharmacies.
These remarks run counter to the reports earlier in the day about the exorbitant prices and the severe shortages of cancer drugs in Iran.
Shargh newspaper in Tehran reported that the sudden increase in the price of cancer drugs has shocked patients. The reason of the unexpected hike seems to be the sudden removal of governmental currency subsidies, Shargh quoted some pharmacists as saying.
This is while the deputy chief of the Central Bank of Iran, Mohamamd Shirijian, said on October 17 that the country's foreign reserves are increasing due to the growth of oil and non-oil exports in spite of US sanctions.
The claims seem in contradiction to a report by reformist daily Ham-Mihan released on October 16 that forecasted a budget deficit twice as big as the figure in the previous year.
Both Lebanon's Iran-aligned Al Mayadeen TV and the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency, reported the news on Thursday though the US has not yet made official comment on the incidents.
According to Al Mayadeen, a drone strike occurred at the Al-Tanf base near Syria's borders with Iraq and Jordan, while a missile attack targeted the Conoco base in the northern Deir al-Zor region. However, no additional details have been provided.
The Al-Tanf base is notably significant for American forces in southeastern Syria and is situated in the triangular border area shared by Syria, Iraq, and Jordan.
Since Iran-backed Hamas declared war on Israel on October 7 after an invasion by air, land, and sea, there has been significant concern that the regime will activate its other proxies in the region on Israel's borders with Lebanon and Syria, and further afield including its Yemeni proxy, the Houthis.
Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has sent direct warnings that there will be "a huge earthquake" should Israel continue its bombardment of Gaza which followed the Hamas invasion which saw the massacre of hundreds of civilians and capture of at least 200 more.
Hezbollah, Iran's biggest proxy, which sits on Israel's northern border in Lebanon, has engaged in an increasing number of skirmishes with Israel in recent days leading to 28 towns and villages in northern Israel to be evacuated.
Meanwhile, there are reports of minor injuries to coalition forces in Iraq following a series of drone attacks on US bases over the past 24 hours.
Two drones targeted the al Asad airbase in western Iraq, which is utilized by US forces, while another drone targeted a base in northern Iraq.
According to a US official who spoke with The Associated Press, all three drones were intercepted. Two of them were successfully neutralized, but the third drone was only partially damaged, resulting in minor injuries among coalition forces at the western base.
The US officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the attacks and spoke anonymously.
"In this moment of heightened alert, we are vigilantly monitoring the situation in Iraq and the region. US forces will defend US and coalition forces against any threat," stated Central Command in a Wednesday release.
Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups have issued threats against US facilities due to US support for Israel in recent days.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for both attacks and said it intended to take further action against the "American occupation." Kataib Hezbollah militia leader Ahmed Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi warned that US bases could be attacked by rockets, drones and special forces.
The group issued a statement after a devastating explosion at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday night, blaming the United States and its support for Israel for the incident. They called for an end to the US presence in Iraq.
The statement concluded with a declaration: “These evil people must leave the country. Otherwise, they will taste the fire of hell in this world before the afterlife.”
