Behnaz Jalalipour is a freelance correspondent for RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
Intermediaries on Iranian Telegram channels are offering newborns for up to $1,100 under the guise of charity, with some promising to falsify birth records and others arranging placements with Iranian families abroad, despite a ban on the sale of babies.
Iran’s worsening medicine shortages are driving patients to a booming black market, where essential drugs can cost several times official prices. Cancer and chronic disease patients face soaring costs, while authorities struggle with imports, currency shortages, and supply disruptions.
According to an investigation by Radio Farda, at least 133 women and girls were killed in the last year for “honor” or other reasons by their husbands, fathers, and brothers – meaning that one woman is a victim of “femicide” every two days in the country.
