Iran Liquor Tragedy: Methanol-Laced Alcohol Kills At Least 25, Hundreds Affected

According to reports from government media, twenty-five people have died in Iran after consuming toxic alcohol that contained methanol. This tragic incident affected both men and women from various towns and villages in the northern provinces of Mazandaran, Gilan, and Hamadan, as reported by the official news agency IRNA.

Additionally, hundreds of others have been hospitalized due to the tainted liquor and are receiving treatment. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, alcohol has been banned in Iran, leading many to resort to bootlegging or producing their own alcohol at home. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a significant increase in alcohol-related deaths in recent years.

In a similar case in October 2023, nearly 300 people fell seriously ill from toxic alcohol, with 40 of them dying. This ongoing problem highlights how the alcohol ban is inadequately enforced throughout the country. For context, in 2020, more than 700 people died from similar alcohol poisoning incidents.