Former Iranian Health Minister: Raisi's Government Has Fired the Best Professors at Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Reza Malekzadeh, a faculty member at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, claims that the government of Ebrahim Raisi has fired or forcibly retired about 40 of the university's best faculty members over the past two years. He, who served as Minister of Health during Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's presidency from 1990 to 1993, described the dismissal of prominent medical professors as a 'catastrophe' for the country, adding: 'With such behaviors, many young people have become disillusioned and are no longer willing to even come to Tehran University for specialized education.' This university professor and gastroenterology specialist, who has also recently been removed from teaching at Tehran University, emphasized that the management group affiliated with the thirteenth government has lowered Tehran University of Medical Sciences' global ranking by 200 places in just two years and filled the university atmosphere with despair. The former head of the Medical System Organization also warned in a note on March 18 that Iran will soon face a collapse of its medical system. Mostafa Moein identified 'chronic mismanagement' in the Ministry of Health, lack of investment in public health, unscientific policymaking by the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, severe livelihood problems for medical staff, the promotion of pseudoscience and superstition as Islamic medicine in state media, and the humiliation of the medical community as major issues facing the medical community in the country. He added that despite warnings about the state of medicine in the country, there is no listening ear, no awakened heart, no compassion, and no understanding of the importance of this catastrophe from the relevant officials. Dr. Reza Saidi Firouzabadi stated in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America on April 1, 2024, that 'the emigration of doctors from Iran is not limited to the past few years; rather, this trend has continued to some extent for the past 45 years.' He added: 'One reason for doctors' emigration from Iran is economic issues, and another is the regime's fear of the popularity of doctors among the people, which has led to a shortage of prominent doctors in Iran and put the health of compatriots at serious risk.'