Iran’s judiciary is investigating claims that frozen embryos were lost or misidentified at a state-affiliated hospital in Tehran, in a case that has deepened concerns about trust and oversight in the country’s fertility services.
“The Islamic Republic… is in a serious pickle,” The Economist wrote in its Friday report.
Flooding the Persian Gulf with fruit and veg is one of its ways to pay for foreign goods it so desperately needs, added the outlet, saying “Iran now supplies nine out of ten cauliflowers, tomatoes and watermelons imported by the UAE.”
The trade relies on large state subsidies that make water, fertilizers and energy almost free.
Iran’s greenhouse cultivation has more than tripled in area since the early 2010s, supported by imported technology from countries including China and the Netherlands. Much of the equipment, The Economist wrote, originates from Israel—“a leader in the field”—though routed indirectly.
But this export boom is exacerbating water scarcity across Iran. With agriculture consuming over 90% of available water, and government support concentrated on export-focused farms, residents in cities like Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, and many others endure hours-long daily shutoffs. Officials have warned of a collapse of groundwater resources and irreversible environmental damage.
Across Iran, families are enduring days without running water. Many are stockpiling bottles, installing rooftop storage tanks, or relying on tanker deliveries—some of which provide unsafe supplies.
Satellite images obtained by Iran International show that Tehran’s main reservoirs—Amir Kabir, Lar, and Latyan—are at historic lows, holding less than 10% of their usable volume.
At the same time, the capital is physically sinking. Excessive extraction from depleted groundwater resources has caused sections of Tehran to subside by more than 25 centimeters per year.
Iran's produce in Sharjah port
The report by the Economist details how Iran’s produce reaches the UAE’s Sharjah port via small ships from Bandar Lengeh, south of the country.
From there, trailers carry shipments to Dubai’s Al Aweer market, the region’s largest wholesale food hub, where wholesalers blend Iranian goods with other imports or repackage them entirely.
Labels are swapped to hide origin—“We just put a sticker on the carton with a new origin: Azerbaijan, Turkey—anything but Iran,” one trader said.
The export trade operates through a parallel financial system. Formal banking channels are avoided due to US sanctions, so traders use the informal system to settle payments.
UAE-based middlemen collect dirhams from food buyers and channel them to Iranian exporters—often in exchange for vital machinery and appliances Tehran cannot otherwise import.
The Economist estimated the value of this clandestine export trade at $4bn to $5bn in 2024 alone.
Iran’s fruits often reach Persian Gulf supermarkets disguised and mispriced. Wholesalers inflate margins by mixing cheap Iranian tomatoes with Dutch imports and reselling the lot as premium goods.
“Instead of 4–5 dirhams, they sell the lot for 20–25 dirhams per kg,” said one insider. Some retail chains fly their staff business class and house them in luxury hotels—funded by “blended” produce profits, according to The Economist.
Despite occasional anti-dumping probes, Persian Gulf states appear to tolerate the flow. The report suggests some governments may see cheap Iranian food as a way to control inflation—or even preserve their own scarce groundwater by outsourcing farming to Iran.
But as water crisis deepens across Iran and key basins dry beyond recovery, Tehran’s strategy of exporting fruit may prove unsustainable. “However tempting,” The Economist warned, “bingeing on Iranian produce looks like a recipe for trouble.”
Sajjad Razavi, deputy health minister for treatment affairs, confirmed Sunday that the case will soon be submitted to the prosecutor’s office.
“The issue is under review, and the file is being completed,” Razavi told Tasnim News Agency. "Any violations are under investigation, and the final decision will be made by the judiciary."
The embryos have since been moved to a different medical center “in coordination with the owners,” he said.
The controversy surfaced after Shargh newspaper reported on July 29 that multiple frozen embryos stored at Aban Hospital in Tehran had disappeared or been wrongly transferred.
Four months earlier, the hospital had abruptly shut down its IVF unit without informing families who had stored embryos, sperm, or eggs.
Families discovered the issue by accident, and in some cases were told that their embryos were either missing or delivered to the wrong recipients during the relocation process.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is permitted in Iran under religious guidance. Demand for fertility services has surged in recent years as the country grapples with declining birth rates, rising infertility, and widespread economic uncertainty delaying marriage and childbearing.
Government policy has increasingly emphasized population growth, with officials urging couples to have more children. However, access to fertility care remains costly and largely urban-centered, driving some to entrust long-term embryo storage to major hospitals.
Aban Hospital is run by Iran University of Medical Sciences and falls under the Health Ministry.
However, health officials have denied any wrongdoing. “The embryos were being preserved under proper conditions,” Mohammadreza Foroughizad, head of public relations at the university, said on July 30.
University president Nader Tavakkoli dismissed the affair as a misunderstanding caused by temporary renovations and said no embryos had been harmed.
But Shargh reported that police visited the hospital on July 28 and formally registered family complaints. Many families still do not know where their frozen embryos are.
They are demanding accountability, judicial action, and compensation for damages, as well as the safe return of their biological material.
