THREAD

1)
Iraqi military intelligence confiscated 19 containers of smuggled medicine from #Iran.

All the while, @JZarif, Iran's apologists/lobbyists & #FakeNews outlets like @nytimes & @CNN, blame U.S. sanctions for "medicine shortages" in Iran.

Let’s debunk these lies.

2)
@AP blames #Iran's Covid-19 crisis on "American sanctions"

Reminders for AP & other MSM outlets:
-Iran's Foreign Ministry spox: "... medicine & food, as you know, were not on any sanctions..."
-Iran's state media confirm food/medicine not sanctioned
-Iran rejected int'l aid

3)
Iran's own media indicates the “food/medicine sanctions” is fake news

Feb 4 — "Iran not relying on Swiss mechanism for supplying medicine, basic goods” – meaning no shortage in medicine & basic goods

May 14 — “Some 96 tons of medical supplies arrive in Iran from Germany”

4)
-Chairman of Iran-Swiss chamber of commerce: US sanctions on 18 Iranian banks will not affect humanitarian trade with Iran.

-Governor of Iran's Central Bank: we have not allowed any shortage of food & medicine to be felt in the country.

Source: https://en.irna.ir/news/84071382/Official-US-fresh-sanctions-not-to-affect-humanitarian-trade

5)
Some say US sanctions deprive Iran of humanitarian goods & medicine.

July 21, 2019—The chief of staff of Iran's president said one billion euros ($1.12 billion) in hard currency allocated for importing medicines & essential goods simply “disappeared.” https://en.radiofarda.com/a/one-billion-euros-allocated-for-importing-essential-goods-disappears-in-iran/30066674.html

6)
Iran’s regime has a long history of hoarding medicine & medical equipment & selling it to the people at skyrocketing prices.

Hoarded medical supplies near Tehran including 4,000 pieces used in orthopedic & heart illness surgeries.
Value—Over $3 million

7)
Alborz Province, N Iran

Over 100 million surgical & medical gloves hoarded in a warehouse.

8)
Shahr-e-Rey, south of Tehran, Iran

Around 28 million gloves of various types found in a stash of hoarded medical supplies.

9)
Brian Hook, former U.S. Special Rep on Iran

Facts:

-Medicine not sanctioned

-Regime itself prevents access

-Regime & IRGC-affiliated entities are hoarding drugs & other critical medical products that they can then sell at marked up prices for profit

10)
Governor of Iran's Central Bank:
“We have provided $22 billion worth of foreign currency for the imports, out of which $11 billion has not returned to the country. What has happened to the rest of the money?”

Source: Arman State-run newspaper- Dec 19, 2019

11)
Aug 9, 2018—Iranian MP Ezzatollah Yousefian Molla revealed the “disappearance” of $9 billion in hard currency amid the economic crisis facing Iran with the collapse of the riyal against the US currency. https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2018/08/09/Iranian-MP-says-nine-billion-dollars-went-missing-amid-the-collapse-of-Riyal

12)
As US officials have repeatedly made it clear, medicine has never been sanctioned. The Swiss Ambassador in Tehran said on January 30, 2020, that the mechanism to import medicine to Iran without any glitches had been activated.

This was acknowledged by Iran's state media.

13)
Feb3—Iran’s Central Bank chief

Our imports of medicine & pharmaceuticals over the past 10 months have been over 2,000 times the volume of imports from the Swiss financial channel. Over $4 billion worth of such commodities has been imported without the aid of such channels.

14)
On the same day, Iranian Health Minister Saeed Namaki said, “At least for the next six months we have no problem in providing medicine, medical equipment, and facilities for the operating room.”

15)
Outside of Iran the regime claims it lacks basic needs due to sanctions.

Inside Iran, it insists everything is under control. On March 25, Rouhani claimed, “We have had no shortages of beds, nurses, or doctors."

16)
August 9, 2019
Iranian Health Minister Saied Namaki claimed 97% of the medicine needed in Iran is produced domestically, with only 3% imported.

Food & Medicine Org spox Kianoush Jahanpour claimed domestic pharmaceutical production could cover the needs of 200 million people.

17)
Remember the 1 billion euros that "disappeared?"

“There are reports that 2 million euros intended for heart stints were instead spent on electrical cable. $180 million for medical supplies were instead spent on tobacco and cigarette paper.”

18)
December 23, 2018

500 million euros had been given to the pharmaceutical industry out of the national funds to deal with the medical crisis.
https://irna.ir/news/83143880/%D9%BE%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%AC%D9%87-500-%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%88%D9%86-%DB%8C%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%B5%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%82-%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%B9%D9%87-%D9%85%D9%84%DB%8C-%D8%A2%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B2

Two months later, half of that money had not reached the announced destination and could not be located.

19)
Former Iranian Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi said in a TV interview in 2014:

“In 2012... we needed some $2.5 billion to import medicine & medical essentials... but only $41 million was provided. Some of the money was given to women’s cosmetics and other things…"

20)
"... state currency is being used to import Porsche cars… our medical equipment and necessary items took only the eighth place in the priority list. Dog food, shovels, and saddles were fourth, fifth and so on.”

Farsi source
https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/445489/%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%B2%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%87-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D9%86%DA%98%D8%A7%D8%AF-%D9%BE%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%88-%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7-%D9%BE%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%B4%D9%87

21)
July 2013
Mohammad Reza Naderi, a customs office deputy said: “There is enough medicine in the country, but due to state bureaucracy a large volume of medicine has been piled up in the customs warehouses...'

22)
Oct 10, 2013
Former MP Hossein Ali Shahriari
"In October 2012, the total foreign currency allocated to [medicine] was 120 million euros, out of which 50 million euros was used to import women’s cosmetics & sanitation goods... only 70 million euros was allocated to medicine.”

23)
In Iran, imports & the medicine market are controlled by individuals w/ unique connections. These monopolies actively control the market & safeguard the interests of institutions operating behind the curtains.

The price of hoarded medicines amounts to about $49 million.

24)
Mohsen Jalavati, vice-chair of Iran's Transparency & Justice Watch Org:
“An import company had recently threatened the Deputy Health Minister if medicine prices are not raised by 60%, items would not be released from customs to cause a shortage.”

(Mashreq daily—Aug 13, 2018)

25)
Abbas Zare-Nejad, advisor to Health Minister: “Some shortages have been caused in some of the medical items not due to sanctions but due to foreign currency allocations, storage or problems of distribution.”

(ILNA news agency—July 15, 2018)

26)
The regime imports cheap off-the-market medicine, seriously endangering the lives of patients.

On September 8, 2019, it was announced that Shabnam Nemat-Zadeh, daughter of the former Minister of Industry Mohammad Reza Nemat-Zadeh, had been arrested for financial reasons.

27)
Iran's regime allowed Shabnam Nemat-Zadeh, daughter of a regime insider, run an import/export pharmaceutical company… all the while the mullahs lie about the U.S. sanctioning medicine & medical equipment…

28)
“… Shabnam Nemat-Zadeh, the daughter of the former Mines and Industry Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh in Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet, was found to be hoarding a stock of medication worth 50 billion rials (approx. $500,000).”
https://english.mojahedin.org/i/iranian-peoples-health-endangered-regimes-corruption

29)
In July-August 2018 a warehouse was discovered where $80 million of outdated medicine imported by Nemat-Zadeh was stored. She began trading in medicine in 2009 and managed several companies together with her mother and sister.

30)
After debunking lies about U.S. sanctions depriving Iran of food & medicine, look at who pushes Iran’s talking points & lies.

@IlhanMN
@SenSanders
@ChrisMurphyCT
@brhodes

And yet its interesting that Iranian regime officials & state media say otherwise.