Huge supplies of medical equipment are being held in storage in Iran – while the regime is blaming shortages on the international sanctions, a former health minister has said.
Alireza Marandi was quoted by Quds Force affiliated news agency Tasnim criticizing ‘the inappropriate import of medical facilities from foreign countries’.
He said: “We are now finding that many of the medical facilities that we have imported are being held in storage without the boxes being opened.”
A manager of Iran’s Red Crescent also revealed on September 15, 2013, that the previous health minister, head of customs, and Central Bank chief had been creating obstacles to the import of medicine into the country.
Meanwhile, the regime’s lobby in the US and EU have been claiming that some medicine shortages are due to the sanctions.
Deputy customs chief Reza Naderi confirmed last July reports that imports of medicine had been held up by customs barriers, and he admitted that 330 tons of medicines were left in undetermined satate at Tehran’s airport customs.
In May 2013, US removed all limitations on the sale of medicine to Iran, but the ruling mullahs do not release foreign currency for purchase of medicine.
Last year, Ahmedinejad’s health minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi resigned partly in protest at the lack of foreign currency available for purchasing medicine.