TEHRAN – Iranian vocalist Mohammad Motamedi has said that due to the U.S. sanctions on Iran, doctors in the country are struggling with a critical shortage of specialized drugs and medical instruments to treat their patients.

He made the remarks in a post published on his Instagram with a photo depicting him when he was lying in bed in a Tehran hospital. However, the singer is in good health condition now.

“A while ago, I wrote a post about the negative effects of the U.S. sanctions on patients and the process of their treatments, and said that the claim by the U.S that medicine is exempted from sanctions is a big lie, and that their main goal was actually to create a feeling of public dissatisfaction in the worst way possible. However, several dear compatriots blamed me and said it is not true and the medicine will not be sanctioned by the U.S.,” he wrote on his post. 

“It has been two months since I have been waiting for a simple pH meter to continue my treatment for an operation on my stomach. But the necessary instrument has not been delivered to the country due to the sanctions,” he added.

A pH meter is a scientific instrument that measures the hydrogen-ion activity in water-based solutions, indicating its acidity or alkalinity expressed as pH.

“Thank God, my case is not critical and I am only waiting for a simple operation which is not a matter of life or death. But those poor patients who, despite their severe health conditions, are used by the U.S. as an instrument to pressure the government to change the political equation for the benefit of the world powers,” he added.

The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had claimed that “the U.S. does not, and never did, sanction food and medicine. They are exempt from sanctions.”

Limits on financial transactions have caused problems in the process of buying and producing medicine.

Earlier on June 19, Motamedi gave a charity concert at the Milad Hall of the Tehran International Permanent Fairgrounds to raise funds for the flood victims in the Lorestan region. The concert was organized by the Association of Freedom and Development Watch.

Also in March, Motamedi gave concerts with low price tickets in Tehran for families from all walks of life.

The concert took place in the Tehran Theater Complex in the Khavaran neighborhood. The concert was part of “Art for All”, a project Motamedi has pursued in recent months to provide the facilities for low-income families to be able to afford tickets for concerts and theaters across the city.

“Over the past few months, I was thinking of launching the project ‘Art for All’ in the fields of theater and music. I negotiated with the officials at the Art and Cultural Organization of the Tehran Municipality, and it was decided that good theaters mainly in downtown Tehran would be dedicated to the project,” Motamedi earlier said.

He also performed two open-air concerts with the Orchestra of National Instruments in Tehran’s Ab-o-Atash Park in August 2018.

The performances were part of a series of free outdoor concerts organized by several popular musicians to boost the spirits of Iranians during the current adverse economic conditions confronting the country.

Photo: This photo shows vocalist Mohammad Motamedi in bed in a Tehran hospital. 

RM/MMS/YAW