A lab-coated technician leans over a bioreactor at an Iranian pharmaceutical plant producing cancer drugs -- a tall order since equipment imports fell victim to US sanctions.
A huge corridor bathed in artificial light and smelling of disinfectant leads to the bioreactor room at the Actoverco factory, to which AFP was given rare access.
Six hundred people run production lines at the facility in an industrial district of Karaj, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Tehran.
Technicians wear scrubs, face masks, gloves and surgical caps as they work.
In the bioreactor, cells are multiplied then transferred to tanks for use as cultures to produce medication.
"Much of the equipment that we are using either in production or in laboratory, they are considered as dual-use and they are sanctioned," said plant manager Reza Mostofi.
"We have many issues at the moment. Because of the sanctions, usually we can't either transfer the money or the supplier is not willing to sell the machinery that we need."