For many Iranians, the new US sanctions campaign, called Operation Economic Outcast, seems superfluous given the grim economic situation in their country.<\/p>\n
Iranians are facing runaway food inflation, closed petrol stations and a seemingly never-ending depreciation of the nation\u2019s currency caused by a lack of foreign exchange reserves.<\/p>\n
Vegetable oil in Iran in August cost 383% more than a year ago. The price of eggs rose by 294%, chicken by 177% and red meat by 148%.<\/p>\n
The cratering economy leaves the country\u2019s political class on edge as they try to prevent economic conditions leading to social chaos.<\/p>\n
In truth, long before Donald Trump\u2019s latest sanctions push<\/a>, Iran\u2019s economy had become a parallel battlefield in which the country\u2019s economic commanders were struggling to maintain control.<\/p>\n On 23 August, the US dollar reached roughly 2m rials on Iran\u2019s open market, a new record.<\/p>\n Three days later, Iran\u2019s statistical centre announced that year-on-year inflation in August reached 84.4%; the rolling annual average rate was about 65%.<\/p>\n As purchasing power in Iran collapses, households are buying fewer goods.<\/p>\n Diets are changing, clothes are being patched up and repaired rather than replaced, and medicine is in short supply, though it can be found on the hidden market.<\/p>\n According to the Mehr news agency, demand for red meat fell by 50% in April 2026 compared with the same period last year. There has also been a leap in the consumption of potatoes, leading to shortages.<\/p>\n Basic goods like eggs are now unaffordable to middle- and working-class families, Golshan Fathi, an Iranian feminist, recently said. \u201cThey don\u2019t understand that people can no longer afford even a normal life.\u201d<\/p>\n Mohsen Zavaar, a biomedical engineer, said: \u201cFor part of the population, the issue is no longer buying a house or a car; the issue is cutting out meat, reducing food quality, postponing medical treatment, and scraping by until the end of the month.\u201d<\/p>\n Frustrated by the inability of officials to tackle the problems, he added: \u201cThe people don\u2019t want miracles \u2013 they want decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n The crisis has spread beyond food and clothes. Long lines of cars stretched through parts of Tehran and the north-eastern Iranian city of Mashhad on Tuesday and Wednesday as motorists queued for fuel, with some lines blocking entire streets. Many petrol stations, including some of the largest, were closed.<\/p>\n Drivers queue outside a petrol station in Tehran on Tuesday. Photograph: Vahid Salemi\/AP<\/p>\n Officials blamed isolated panic buying caused by rumours of a government-planned price increase, or Israeli bombs that destroyed two of Tehran\u2019s three main oil depots.<\/p>\n