Compounding Pressures: How the Iran war and US trade policy are straining analytical labs
In our latest Lab Insights, we explore the factors impacting your lab in this turbulent time. Please let us know what you think in our comment section below.
The 2026 Iran war has reached beyond oil markets and geopolitics into an unlikely corner: the analytical instruments and supply chains that keep university, pharmaceutical, and government labs across the US and Canada running.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz since late February has touched everything from cooling gas for lab magnets to the reagents on the shelf and the reference materials still stuck in transit. On top of that, a separate wave of US tariff policy is raising the cost of the equipment and consumables labs rely on, regardless of the war's trajectory.
Supplies that were once a given now require thought and planning
Helium and the instruments that depend on it
Iranian missile strikes on Qatar's Ras Laffan complex, source of roughly a third of the world's helium, combined with the Hormuz shutdown, have kept that supply off the market for months. Prices have surged well past pre-war levels, and North American suppliers have cut deliveries to some customers by as much as half (Lab Manager). Pacific Northwest National Laboratory had to shut down five NMR spectrometers when a supplier slashed monthly deliveries and now pays roughly double what it paid two years ago (Physics Today). A Canadian Helium Users Group survey found that most NMR facilities struggled to procure liquid helium over a recent nine-month stretch, with prices climbing anywhere from modest amounts to several-fold (Physics Today).
One way to adapt:
ETH Zurich's closed-loop reliquefaction system, which now recovers 85 to 90 percent of helium used in some facilities, points to one way labs are adapting (ETH Zurich). Because Ras Laffan's repair timeline runs into years, this is a structural constraint rather than a passing spike (Exiger).
Reagents and solvents from a squeezed petrochemical sector
Disrupted sulfur flows through Hormuz are tightening supply of sulfuric acid, a foundational reagent used across metals, minerals, and chemical processing (InvestorNews). More broadly, Gulf petrochemical output that feeds building blocks like ethylene and propylene into downstream solvents and lab consumables has been curtailed, and analysts expect the strain to deepen the longer the conflict continues (Chemistry World).
One way to adapt:
For gas chromatography specifically, some labs are shifting from helium carrier gas to on-site nitrogen or hydrogen generation, reducing exposure to the volatility altogether.
Partners like GGS support labs through that transition, helping them switch gas sources without disrupting ongoing testing schedules or instrument uptime, so throughput and lab performance hold steady through the changeover.
Shipping delays for isotopes and reference materials
The U.S. National Isotope Development Center has been surveying stakeholders on radiopharmaceutical and radioisotope shipment delays and denials tied to the disrupted transit routes (NIDC), a concern that mirrors the wider collapse in Gulf transit, which is also delaying temperature-sensitive, short-shelf-life pharmaceutical shipments worldwide (Healthbeat). Freight analysts warn that as transit times stretch by weeks, manufacturers and labs alike will feel it in the form of delayed components, tighter inventories, and rising costs (NBC News).
A cybersecurity dimension
CSIS analysts have linked Iran to cyberattacks on the US water sector intended to sow fear and disruption rather than cause direct damage (CSIS). That is an adjacent risk rather than a lab-specific one so far, but it is a reminder that labs dependent on municipal water systems for ultrapure water production sit downstream of the same conflict.
A second front: Tariffs on lab equipment and supplies
Separate from the war, US tariff policy is compounding the cost pressure on labs in its own right. Import taxes on lab equipment and supplies now range roughly from 10 to 54 percent depending on country of origin, raising the price of staples like microscopes, glassware, and computer chips at a time when many institutions are already contending with tighter research budgets (Nature). Steel and aluminum tariffs that reached 50 percent in mid-2025 have pushed up the cost of casework and framing, and suppliers are shortening equipment quote windows to hedge against further changes (Lab Depot).
Consumables have not been spared either: layered Section 301 and baseline duties on plasticware are translating into roughly 5 to 15 percent cost increases passed through to researchers on items like pipette tips and sample tubes (Innovative Bioscience). Some labs have responded by stockpiling consumables ahead of anticipated increases or shifting toward refurbished equipment and leasing arrangements (Lab Manager).
The tariffs have also triggered retaliation that loops back on US labs: China's ban on genetic sequencers from US instrument maker Illumina illustrates how trade measures can squeeze the same equipment makers labs depend on (Science).
How do you deal with this?
Let us know how your lab is coping with budget uncertainty and delays. Our goal, as always, is to keep labs running strong. And we want to hear your thoughts about fixes, workarounds, and smart sourcing. Comment below, and thanks.
Sources
• Lab Manager, "Helium Shortage 5.0: Practical Strategies for Lab Managers" • Physics Today, "Helium prices surge to record levels as shortage continues" • ETH Zurich, "How ETH Zurich is responding to the global helium shortage" • Exiger, "Iran War Disrupts One-Third of Global Helium Supply"
• InvestorNews, "Critical Minerals Report: The Iran War, China's Chemical Leverage & The Real Supply Chain Constraint"
• Chemistry World, "Gulf chemicals supply disruption will continue for months to years" • National Isotope Development Center, "Request for Input: Radiopharmaceutical and Radioisotope Shipment Delays and Denials"
• Healthbeat, "How the Iran war is affecting medicine around the world, from cancer drugs to helium for MRIs"
• NBC News, "Iran-U.S. war chokes key shipping lane and threatens global cargo industry" • CSIS, "Latest Analysis: War with Iran"
• Nature, "Tariffs hit science labs: Trump's levies raise cost of supplies" • Lab Depot, "How to Manage Your Lab Budget Under New Tariff Costs in 2026" • Innovative Bioscience, "How 2026 US Tariffs Are Affecting Lab Supply Prices" • Lab Manager, "Rising Tariffs Reshape Laboratory Budgets for 2026"
• Science, "Sticker shock: New U.S. tariffs could raise cost of research equipment and supplies"