The Ayatollah Khomeinei Hospital Center is the largest in Iran. Its oncology institute is a reference in the fight against cancer. 1000 patients pass through it every day and most of them come from underprivileged areas. But American economic sanctions are being felt.

In the chemotherapy department, most patients are affected by the scarcity of drugs and the increase in prices. "Some medicines are lacking, we have to import them. It is very expensive for our patients. They are forced to pay for them in dollars or euros," said Wida Shehri, head of the nurses' department of the chemotherapy department.

Iran produces more than 95% of its medicines. But to manufacture them, the country must import raw materials. With the sanctions, some of these molecules have become difficult to access, causing a great shortage.

Officially, the US sanctions are not intended to apply to pharmaceuticals. But by hitting Iranian banks, and especially the central bank in the name of the fight against terrorism, they affect imports of medical goods.

According to Professor Mahmood Zadezh, director of the oncology department, 50% of patients are affected by the sanctions. For a surgeon from the service, "In the end, we no longer know if it is politicians or our patients who are the targets of sanctions. We cannot stop. We are talking about cancer and cancer does not stop . So we continue to operate. "

The sanctions reinstated by the United States, after its withdrawal in 2018 from the nuclear agreement, do not spare any sector of the Iranian economy. The economic crisis in which Iran has plunged will therefore be at the heart of the concerns of voters called to choose their 290 deputies from the 7000 candidates on Friday.

>> Read also: In Iran, the legislative campaign is launched without many reformers

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