A severe and escalating shortage of insulin and other essential medicines is pushing millions of Iranian diabetes patients into a new phase of uncertainty, financial strain, and deteriorating health. The unprecedented rise in insulin prices—combined with the regime’s gradual removal of preferential currency for life-saving drugs—has turned basic treatment into an unaffordable luxury for many.
Insulin Becomes a “Luxury Commodity” After Currency Policy Shift
In recent months, prices for newer insulin types—such as glargine, rapid, and degludec—have surged dramatically. The widely used insulin “Ryzodeg,” considered the most effective option for many patients, is now imported at free-market rates after the removal of subsidized currency. Pharmacies report that the drug has effectively become a high-priced item unavailable to most of the population.
As a result, countless patients are being forced back to older insulin formulations like Regular and NPH—drugs associated with higher blood-sugar volatility and less effective long-term disease management.
Despite the life-sustaining nature of insulin, pharmacies in Tehran and other major cities say distribution has become strictly rationed. Even patients with prescriptions are routinely turned away. Many pharmacies now respond with the daily phrase: “We have no quota,” prompting patients to search across several locations in hopes of finding a single vial.
Official Claims Contradict Widespread Reality
While Iran’s Food and Drug Administration spokesperson downplays the crisis and claims the shortage is limited to a single type of imported insulin, both pharmacists and patients report a completely different reality. Degludec now exceeds 900,000 tomans, forcing low-income diabetics to choose between inadequate older insulins or unbearable financial strain.
Iran currently has at least 7.5 million diabetes patients, with some estimates approaching nine million. The true number continues to rise, driven by economic hardship, worsening nutrition, and increasing obesity.
A Nationwide Drug Shortage Expands
The insulin crisis reflects a broader collapse in Iran’s pharmaceutical supply chain. Over the past months:
- More than 200 widely used medications have become scarce or completely unavailable.
- Kidney-disease drugs, antibiotics, hormone medications, and even basic supplements such as Omega-3 and Vitamin B12 face severe shortages and inflated prices.
Vitamin B12 ampoules have risen more than 228% in a short period, while the French influenza vaccine now sells for up to 3 million tomans in some pharmacies. Families—especially the elderly and those with chronic illnesses—are increasingly forced to choose between medication and daily living expenses.
Corruption, Smuggling, and Hoarding Fuel the Crisis
Health-sector corruption, unchecked middlemen, and widespread pharmaceutical smuggling are major drivers behind the disaster. Price differences between Iran and neighboring countries have incentivized the so-called “reverse smuggling” of subsidized Iranian medicines into Iraq and Afghanistan. Official estimates put the value of this illicit trade at up to five trillion tomans.
At the same time, large hidden drug warehouses continue to be discovered across the country, exposing deliberate hoarding and artificial supply manipulation aimed at creating black-market profits.
Regime Priorities Leave Patients Behind
Instead of resolving international restrictions or returning to serious negotiations to ease sanctions, the regime continues pouring Iran’s limited foreign currency reserves into missile programs, regional interventions, and support for proxy groups. These priorities have intensified pressure on the pharmaceutical industry—leaving patients to bear the cost of the regime’s strategic choices.
Rising Costs Push Diabetes Management Out of Reach
Beyond insulin itself, the cost of diabetes monitoring tools has soared. A single pack of blood-glucose test strips now exceeds 500,000 tomans, forcing patients to reduce the frequency of testing. This dangerous cutback increases the risk of kidney damage, vision loss, heart failure, and diabetic ulcers.
The Health Ministry states that 30% of diabetes patients develop chronic ulcers, many eventually requiring amputation.
The overall trend is alarming:
- Diabetes prevalence has risen more than 30% since 2016.
- The average age of onset has dropped to 18–20 years.
- Economic hardship has pushed families toward cheap, high-calorie foods that directly contribute to diabetes and prediabetes.
In Iran, one out of every three deaths is linked to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension—conditions that are preventable but require regular screening, stable treatment supplies, and affordable medication.
A Structural Collapse, Not a Temporary Shortage
Iran’s spiraling drug crisis underscores a systemic failure—one rooted in political priorities, mismanagement, and corruption. With skyrocketing drug prices, dwindling supplies, and emptying pharmacy shelves, millions of Iranians suffering from diabetes, heart disease, or respiratory illness now face an agonizing choice: reduce treatment or abandon it altogether.
That choice translates directly into rising deaths, more hospitalizations, and an accelerating collapse in public health—conditions that stand in stark contrast to the regime’s longstanding claims that sanctions are a “blessing” and external pressures “have little effect” on Iran’s economy.
