Iran: Relatives of cancers patients blame US sanctions for scarcity of medications

M/S Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, Tehran
M/S Patients undergoing chemotherapy
M/S Patients undergoing chemotherapy
M/S Patients undergoing chemotherapy
M/S Husband of cancer patient Arman Nahid and patients
SOT, Arman Nahid, Husband of cancer patient (Farsi): "The reality is that the US is putting Iran under pressure and they are justifying their acts with these lie such as what Mr. [Brian] Hook said in the video. The unique chemotherapy medicines are really inaccessible and expensive on the market. Mr. Hook says: "we give the access for the medicines to Iran's government", but when the money transfer system is blocked, how these medicines could be bought [here]? For example, my wife is sick and we needed to use a port and I searched in so many places for this port and out of about 30 places there was only one location that provided it."
M/S Patients undergoing chemotherapy
C/U Patient undergoing chemotherapy
SOT, Zahra Safavi, Cancer patient (Farsi): "We spend the whole amount of a monthly salary for the medicine in here. My children buy it so I do not know whether it's accessible."
C/U Patient undergoing chemotherapy
W/S Doctor examining patient
C/U Doctor examining patient
C/U Doctor examining patient
SOT, Hasan Abolghasemi, Professor of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (Farsi): "The video I just watched is not true. Mr. Hook says: 'we haven't put any sanctions on medicine and food for Iran.' The reality is that all financial corridors of Iran are blocked and we are not able to import any cancer medicines from the original providers and brands which are mostly in Europe since we cannot provide the foreign currency. Therefore, in order to provide these medicines that are mostly generic, our government should import from countries which are not developed in this industry. So, we witness that pediatric cancer that could be easily cured and completely treated previously, is a big deal now because we do not have the access to the original medicines."
M/S Patient and her father
SOT, Saeed Badieifard, Patient's father (Farsi): "Mr. Hook's words are false. His government has put sanctions on our country and they have forced other countries to follow these sanctions and do not sell medicines to us. Right now it is so difficult to buy special medications, it means those patients with unique diseases are facing so many problems. Medicines are both expensive and inaccessible."
C/U Patient
SCRIPT
Patients being treated from cancer in Iran struggle with obtaining necessary medications for therapy due to the US sanctions imposed on the country, according to people's relatives and a clinic's professor, as footage filmed in one of Tehran's private clinics on Saturday shows.
People could be seen receiving liquid treatment, while being assisted by medical personal. Husband of one of such cancer patients, Arman Nahid commented on the situation as well as the claims made by Brian Hook, US Special Representative for Iran about accessibility of medicine for Iranian people.
"Mr. Hook says: "we give the access for the medicines to Iran's government", but when the money transfer system is blocked, how these medicines could be bought [here]? For example, my wife is sick and we needed to use a port and I searched in so many places for this port and out of about 30 places there was only one location that provided it," said Nahid.
Hasan Abolghasemi, Professor of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology agreed, saying that Hook's words were not true. "The reality is that all financial corridors of Iran are blocked and we are not able to import any cancer medicines from the original providers and brands which are mostly in Europe since we cannot provide the foreign currency," stressed the professor.
He also mentioned the growing rate of a pediatric cancer "that could be easily cured and completely treated previously, is a big deal now because we do not have the access to the original medicines."
In the end of July, the Twitter account of the US Department of State published a video with Brian Hook "debunking myths regarding U.S. sanctions."
In the video Hook called the reports that the US sanctioned medical supplies for Iranian people a "myth" adding that the US "exempts medicine and medical devices for the Iranian people from the US sanctions". Hook added that medicaments could be bought from the US companies and delivered to Iran and that the Iranian government was the one to blame for blocking the access to them.
Despite Hook's claims it's reported that the US-made medicaments are still hard to obtain reportedly due to banking sanctions that hamper money transactions which causes some Western companies to refuse to sell the necessary drugs and medical equipment to Iran.
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