Guardian Business reports that Iran’s economic crisis is forcing households to reduce purchases, alter their diets and delay medical care.
The new US sanctions campaign, known as Operation Economic Outcast, is expected to push more Iranians into poverty, although many already view it as unnecessary amid the country’s worsening conditions.
In August, vegetable oil cost 383% more than a year earlier, while eggs, chicken and red meat were respectively 294%, 177% and 148% more expensive.
Iran’s open-market dollar rate reached about 2m rials on 23 August, setting a new record.
Iran’s statistical centre said three days later that August’s year-on-year inflation was 84.4%, with the rolling annual average at about 65%.
The Mehr news agency reported that red-meat demand in April 2026 was 50% below the level recorded during the same period last year.
The squeeze has led people to buy fewer goods, repair clothing instead of replacing it and seek medicine through a hidden market when supplies are limited.
Fuel access has also become a problem, with queues reported in Tehran and Mashhad and many petrol stations closed.
Officials attributed the queues to isolated panic buying linked to rumours of a planned price rise or damage to Tehran’s oil depots, while discussions about reducing fuel subsidies have continued inside the government.
A 50% petrol-price increase in November 2019 had triggered week-long violent protests, adding to concern over any new rise.
Saqab Esfahani, deputy to Iran’s president, said political factions were involved in fuel smuggling, and Masoud Pezeshkian was urged to investigate the remarks.
Fatemeh Mohajerani, a spokesperson for the Iranian government, said future poverty figures would require permission from the supreme national security council before publication.
Hojatoleslam Taeb, the new head of the Basij paramilitary force and an ally of Mojtaba Khamenei, presented lower fuel use and less travel as patriotic measures, including a possible 10% reduction in petrol consumption.
Mohsen Rezaei advised young people to make needed products at home, while Mohammad Taheri of Tejarat Farda compared the proposal with Mao’s backyard steel furnaces during the Great Leap Forward.
Amirhossein Hashemi-Javid, an energy expert, said the central problem was Iran’s inability to export oil under the US blockade and warned that unsold oil creates growing production, storage and risk costs.
The worsening conditions are leaving Iran’s political class under pressure as leaders try to prevent economic hardship from producing social chaos.