Over 120,000 Iranians die each year due to poor nutrition, while regime policies and economic collapse push millions to the brink of hunger.
Iran is facing an alarming nutrition and public health crisis that has reached catastrophic levels. According to official data from the Ministry of Health, one in every three deaths in the country is linked to malnutrition. Despite this, the regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei continues to boast that the regime is “reaching the peak of progress and security.”
At the National Nutrition Conference held on October 20, Ahmad Esmaeilzadeh, head of the Office for Community Nutrition Improvement, revealed that 35% of all annual deaths in Iran—around 120,000 people—are caused by inadequate or poor nutrition.
Meanwhile, the state-run Mehr News Agency reported on the sharp rise in organ sales by impoverished Iranians, warning that the phenomenon can no longer be dismissed as “a personal decision under temporary financial pressure.” The report added that surging food prices, rising rents, and unaffordable medical costs have pushed millions of families to the edge of social and physical collapse.
Millions suffering from critical nutrient shortages
Official data shows a drastic decline in the consumption of meat, dairy, fruits, and vegetables, largely due to skyrocketing prices and falling household incomes. The Ministry of Health estimates that each year:
- 10,000 people die from a lack of omega-3 fatty acids,
- 10,000 from insufficient fruit and vegetable intake, and
- 25,000 from low consumption of whole grains.
Between 50% and 70% of Iran’s population now suffers from vitamin D deficiency, which directly affects immunity and bone health. Many families can no longer afford nutritious foods, and vitamin supplements have vanished from their shopping lists due to exorbitant prices.
The situation is especially dire in underprivileged provinces such as Sistan and Baluchestan, Kerman, and Hormozgan, where poverty and hunger have become structural. Among the most visible consequences are child stunting, obesity caused by cheap junk food, and a surge in chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
According to government data, one in five Iranian children is overweight or obese, and around 30% of pregnant women fail to gain sufficient weight during pregnancy.
A vicious cycle of poverty and hunger
The country’s health crisis has evolved into a severe economic threat. Families must now spend several times more than before to afford a healthy diet, yet real incomes have collapsed. This has created a vicious cycle of poverty, illness, and malnutrition that is being passed from one generation to the next.
Esmaeilzadeh warned that continued iodine deficiency among pregnant women could lower the next generation’s IQ, a long-term blow to Iran’s human capital and economy. Experts now describe the malnutrition crisis as not merely a public health issue but a strategic threat to national stability.
Regime policies at the root of hunger
Analysts point to the regime’s military and nuclear spending as a central cause of this humanitarian disaster. Khamenei’s costly regional interventions and pursuit of nuclear ambitions have led to crippling Western sanctions, diverting national wealth from the people’s tables to the regime’s war machine. The result is widespread hunger, poverty, and despair.
Labor expert Hamid Haj-Esmaeili recently warned that Iran’s poverty line has surpassed 55 million tomans, while the average worker or public employee earns just 17 million tomans a month. As a result, over 70% of the population now lives under severe economic pressure, forcing many to take on second or even third jobs just to survive.
Economic collapse fueling the crisis
Soaring inflation and food prices have also devastated small businesses. Restaurant owners report that with rising ingredient costs and falling demand, continuing operations is no longer economically viable.
The housing crisis adds another crushing burden. According to Iran’s Statistical Center, rent now consumes 44% of household expenditures, leaving little for food, transport, clothing, or utilities.
Meanwhile, a new report from the Parliament’s Research Center confirms that Iran’s economy contracted in the first half of 2025, widening the gap between the government’s propaganda and the grim reality. The World Bank’s latest forecast adds further evidence: every Middle Eastern economy is expected to grow by 2026—except Iran.
Unemployment remains another chronic driver of poverty. The latest figures reveal that 40.3% of Iran’s jobless population hold university degrees, underscoring the regime’s failure to create meaningful employment even for educated citizens.
Iran’s malnutrition crisis is no longer an invisible tragedy—it has become a defining symptom of the regime’s economic mismanagement and political priorities. As resources are funneled into nuclear projects and proxy wars, millions of Iranians are being starved of the most basic human necessity: food.
