03.11.2025 New Correspondence in The Lancet: Health Safeguards under the UN’s Reimposition of Sanctions on Iran

A new Lancet correspondence co-authored by Mohammad Reza Farzanegan (CNMS, Philipps-Universität Marburg) together with Maziar Moradi-Lakeh, Ruth Gibson, Jerg Gutmann, and Reza Majdzadeh discusses the health consequences of the UN Security Council’s recent reimposition of multilateral sanctions on Iran.

The authors highlight the potential for considerable human toll, drawing on evidence from previous sanctions regimes. They note that despite existing humanitarian exemptions, past sanctions severely disrupted medicine imports, leading to price spikes of up to 300% for some essential drugs, significant reductions in the availability of non-communicable disease medicines in Iran, and an estimated drop in life expectancy in a cross-country study. The publication identifies a "persistent institutional blind spot" within the UN, where oversight mechanisms historically failed to systematically assess the impact on access to medicines, medical equipment, or broader population health.

To prevent a recurrence of these devastating health outcomes and address the liability gap, the correspondence proposes a coherent five-point framework. Key recommendations include:

• Ensuring the effective operation of humanitarian exemptions and payment channels.
• Addressing over-compliance by third parties (such as banks and financial institutions).
• Robustly monitoring the availability and affordability of essential medicines and equipment.
• Integrating broader indicators on financial protection, food security, and national preparedness.
• Establishing a technical panel mandated to apply proportionality and right-to-health tests.

The authors stress that policymakers must conduct ex-ante health effect assessments and pair exemptions with practical enforcement mechanisms. Without such robust global instruments, the restrictions risk exacerbating health issues, particularly for at-risk populations.

Read the full correspondence at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)02055-0/fulltext