Iran International
Ozempic and other weight-loss injections have become the latest luxury craze among affluent Iranians, as the nation struggles with a chronic shortage and soaring cost of essential medications.
Anti-obesity drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro are not approved by Iran’s health regulators but that does not seem to bother those who seek and afford this newfound status symbol.
“Have a quick scroll through Instagram and you’ll see scores of Ozempic posts,” says Fatemeh, a psychotherapist in Tehran over a call on an encrypted messaging app. “You may see the medical pen flaunted alongside a Givenchy or a Louis Vuitton.”
For many, Ozempic is as much about status as it is about fitness, she says, adding that it’s not all too rare to happen upon someone live streaming their injection of Mounjaro to showcase their apparent weight-loss journeys.
The longing for a slimmer physique is nothing new. But the anti-obesity injections, often called a Fitness Wand, are also highly coveted in Iran not in spite of but because of their high cost.
On Instagram and Telegram, platforms with the most users in Iran, instructional videos are mushrooming on Ozempic and other weight-loss medications, with more physicians and clinics offering tips on how to use those, how to get the best results, and of course, how to tell apart the original and the fake ones.
“For many of our clients, these weight-loss pens are seen as tools to regain self-confidence,” says Maryam Majd, a 42-year-old fitness trainer at a high-end gym in Tehran’s affluent Zaferaniyeh district.
“Our gym staff is trained to assist with using these products, and we’ve even set up a dedicated room next to the solarium for this purpose,” she adds.
The urge to follow western trends may be explained, partly at least, by Iran’s official isolation from the world. But there’s little doubt that Iranians tend to be trigger happy when it comes to invasive methods of uplifting their appearance.
Take the wave of rhinoplasty (or nose jobs) that came to Iran’s shores a couple of decades ago and has left very few nostrils intact. Then it was liposuction, then Botox.
Every time it starts with the well-off and spreads to others, first as a luxury then a necessity, an obsession almost, which compels people with not enough disposable income to cut their expenses elsewhere, give up their basic needs even, to afford it.
Ozempic and other pens appear to be following a similar trajectory.
All this comes as many Iranians have to visit multiple pharmacies and queue up for hours to get life-saving medication for their loved ones.
Iran’s ongoing economic troubles—driven by sanctions, corruption and government mismanagement—has led to chronic shortages of essential drugs. Three in ten Iranians are now unable to afford their medication due to the soaring prices.
It does not help that some black market dealers, drawn by the substantial profit margins, have shifted their focus from rare disease medications to high-demand weight-loss drugs.
As the global trend of weight-loss medications continues to gain traction, Ozempic and similar drugs have become yet another example of Iran’s widening gap—between those constantly chasing the latest status symbol and those struggling to meet their basic needs.
The rial has depreciated by approximately 50% against the US dollar since September, a sharp decline that is expected to further drive up Iran’s already high inflation by increasing the cost of both domestic production and imports.
Iran’s hardliner-dominated parliament (Majles) appears determined to impeach Economy Minister Abdolnasser Hemmati and push Pezeshkian to dismiss Central Bank Governor Alireza Farzin. Energy Minister Aliabadi is also on the impeachment list, facing scrutiny over his ministry’s failure to secure adequate fuel for power plants during the winter months.
Amid Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s repeated calls for unity within the government and his criticism of discord between the president and parliament, lawmakers held a closed-door meeting on Tuesday to brief Pezeshkian on the rial’s depreciation—despite the president already being well aware of the deeper causes of Iran’s chronic economic crisis.
“The Majles has vowed to hasten Hemmati’s impeachment if he and Pezeshkian fail to convince parliament that they are taking effective action to address the crisis and improve people’s livelihoods,” Iranian media quoted parliamentary officials as saying on Monday.
Media outlets in Tehran, including Khabar Online, reported that while the primary reasons for the motions against Aliabadi and Farzin are power shortages and rising exchange rates, respectively, some in parliament may also be pushing for their removal due to their ties to former President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration.
Pezeshkian has faced repeated criticism from the media for reinstating officials from the previous government. Given this, it is easy to conclude that he might not oppose their dismissal, as it could help project the appearance of the much-sought "change" in his administration.
However, Hemmati presents a different challenge. His outspoken approach, as demonstrated in the past, has the potential to create problems for both parliament and the president. During Raisi’s three-year tenure, he frequently criticized the government's economic performance, making him a persistent and vocal opponent.
Analysts and commentators in Iran have long argued that chronic inflation and declining economic indicators stem from US sanctions imposed since 2018 and the state-controlled nature of the economy. While officials occasionally attribute economic hardships to sanctions, they more often emphasize Iran’s ability to circumvent them through innovative measures. Less frequently discussed, however, is the country’s unique and intertwined political-economic system, which fosters monopolies and enables corruption among insiders.
Regarding Aliabadi’s case, Pezeshkian has acknowledged that he himself bears responsibility for the fuel and power shortages, admitting to mistakes in assessing the issue.
Hemmati, meanwhile, has partly attributed the rial’s decline to "regional developments." However, according to Khabar Online, most Iranian media outlets place the blame on Pezeshkian and his appointment of ultraconservatives to key positions as the main drivers of the country’s financial and energy crises.
The Rouydad24 website has noted that Trump's return to power has intensified Iran’s economic crisis. It reported that his renewed threats of "maximum pressure" on Tehran have contributed to rising exchange rates and soaring gold prices in the Iranian market.
Fathollah Tavassoli, a member of the Majles economic committee, insisted that "those pushing for Hemmati’s impeachment are independent MPs" and that the move is not driven by political or factional motives. However, another lawmaker, Mohammad Mehdi Shahryari, countered that "hardliners are pressuring independent MPs to support the impeachment motion."
So far, 89 lawmakers out of 290 have signed the motion—far exceeding the 10 signatures required for the Majles presidium to proceed with impeachment.