Iranians say US sanctions blocking access to medicine
TEHRAN, Iran—Ta ha Shakouri keeps finding remote corners to play in at a Tehran children' s charity hospital, unaware that his doctors are running out of che mo medicine needed to treat the eight-year-old boy's liver cancer.
With Iran' s economy in free fall after the U.S. pullout from the nuclear deal and escalated sanctions on Tehran, prices of imported medicines have soared as the national currency tumbled about 70% against the dollar. Even medicines manufactured in Iran are tougher to come by for ordinary Iranians, their cost out of reach for many in a country where the average monthly salary is equivalent to about $450.
Iran's health system can't keep up and many are blaming President Donald Trump's “maximum pressure” campaign for the staggering prices and shortages. The sanctions have hurt ordinary Iranians, sending prices for everything from staples and consumer goods to housing skyward, while raising the specter of war with the U.S.
Ta ha' s mother, Lay a Taghizadeh, says the hospital provides her son's medication for free — a single treatment would otherwise cost $1,380 at a private hospital. She adds the family is deeply grateful to the doctors and the hospital staff.
“We couldn't make it without their support,” says the 30- year-old woman .“My husband is a simple grocery store worker and this is a very costly disease.”
The Iranian rial has plunged from 32,000 to $1 at the time of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran a nd world powers to around 120,000 rials to the dollar these days, highly affecting prices of imported medicines. The nuclear deal had raised expectations of a
better life for many Iranians, free of the chokehold of international sanctions.
The landmark accord lifted i nt e r nat i onal s a nct i ons i n exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear program, but now the deal has all but unraveled and new and tougher U.S. sanctions are in place.
While t he United States i nsists t hat medicines and humanitarian goods are exempt from sanctions, restrictions on t r ade have made many banks and companies across the world hesitant to do business with Iran, fearing punitive measures from Washington. The country is cut off from the international banking system.