Iran’s internet blackout entered its 72nd day on Sunday, with connectivity flatlining after 1,704 hours, internet monitor NetBlocks said.
“The unprecedented measure is well into its third month with no indication of a wider restoration as authorities bar the general public from international access,” it added in a post on X.
Mehdi Zahmatkesh, head of the Pharmacists Association in Razavi Khorasan province, told the state news agency IRNA that shortages were affecting medications for cancer, MS, dialysis, transplant, hemophilia, cardiac, respiratory and psychiatric patients.
“We have faced price increases ranging from 20% to 400% for some medicines,” Zahmatkesh said, attributing the worsening crisis to the removal of subsidized foreign currency and damage caused by the recent war.
The remarks add to growing signs of strain in Iran’s healthcare sector, where citizens and pharmacists have increasingly reported difficulties obtaining essential medication.
Pharmacies struggle with unpaid insurance claims
Pharmacies, Zahmatkesh said, were also facing severe liquidity problems because insurance providers had failed to pay outstanding debts worth between 500 billion and four trillion rials (between $283,000 and $2.26 million).
“With the sharp increase in medicine prices and delayed payments from insurers, pharmacies are facing difficulties supplying medicine for hard-to-treat patients,” he said.
Zahmatkesh urged insurance organizations to settle pharmacy claims within the legally mandated 45-day period so pharmacies can maintain enough cash flow to purchase medicine.
The official’s comments came days after Etemad newspaper quoted Iranian Pharmacists Association spokesman Hadi Ahmadi as saying medicine prices had increased between 30% and 300%.
Ahmadi linked the surge to shrinking government resources for subsidies and reduced capacity to support medicine production and imports.
Citizens report worsening shortages
In recent weeks, citizens have sent messages to Iran International describing worsening shortages, steep price increases and growing financial hardship.
“Medicine is impossible to find,” one citizen told Iran International. “After searching through 100 pharmacies, even if we find the drug we need, we have to buy it at full price because insurers haven’t paid pharmacies. It’s a disaster.”
Reports received by Iran International also point to rising shortages of psychiatric medication, with some patients and pharmacy workers saying people have been forced to stop or alter treatment because drugs are unavailable or unaffordable.
The latest complaints come as Iran continues to face high inflation, a weakening currency and deepening economic stagnation that have sharply increased living costs for many households.
Healthcare costs weigh on low-income families
Zahmatkesh called for broader insurance coverage to reduce the burden of healthcare costs on patients, particularly low-income families already struggling with inflation and declining purchasing power.
Despite a 45% increase in the minimum wage this year, according to Etemad, the sharp fall in the value of the rial has made treatment costs increasingly unaffordable for poorer households.
