Iran denies report of iodine distribution near nuclear sites

Iran’s Health Ministry has denied that one of its officials told a foreign newspaper Iran was distributing iodine tablets near nuclear sites, while a separate preparedness program in Bushehr has distributed 180,000 tablets, according to a local health official. Hossein Kermanpour, the ministry’s public-relations chief, said no ministry official had spoken to The Times and that a quote attributed to the ministry was false. The newspaper’s account cited an unnamed Iranian health official as saying tablets were being distributed to communities within about two to three kilometers of nuclear facilities as a wartime precaution. The reported current distribution has not been independently established in the accounts reviewed. The Bushehr program is a distinct, documented local initiative described by a deputy for health affairs at Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. The official said it began under an emergency preparedness plan launched before the June 2025 war, first prioritizing areas around the city’s nuclear power plant and later expanding across Bushehr. The official said 180,000 tablets had been distributed under a decision by crisis-management authorities and remained...