Prices in Iran are soaring after seven months of war and tough U.S. sanctions, making daily life increasingly difficult for ordinary households.
Reuters reported on the 30th, based on interviews with Iranian residents, that a growing number of people cannot afford rent or even basic necessities as U.S. sanctions hammer the country's crude oil exports.
Iran's leadership projects confidence about the war in public, but critics say that inside the country ordinary citizens are being pushed to the edge.
Schoolbags Cost Five to Six Times More as Price Surge Hits Daily Life
The shock from the price surge is showing up throughout daily life. Hediyeh, a housewife in her 60s living in northern Iran, struggles even to cover diapers and medicine for an elderly mother with dementia. She wanted to buy a schoolbag for a grandchild starting a new term, but prices had risen five to six times from the past, so in the end she bought only pencils and notebooks.
Behnam Riazi, who runs a restaurant in Tehran, said, "There is almost no profit left, but if I close the doors I become unemployed immediately, so I keep operating even though I hate it."
A woman in her 30s living in Sanandaj said sharply higher cigarette prices had effectively forced her to quit smoking.
As the economic crisis deepens, the cost of black market transactions and the size of bribes have risen as well. One account described paying a surgeon $200 (about 260,000 won) under the table to avoid complicated administrative procedures for surgery, and bribes demanded by police when passing checkpoints without an identification card have also reportedly risen sharply from before.
Job Losses and Housing Costs Erode the Middle Class
Shrinking employment and the collapse of the middle class are becoming reality. An office worker in Tehran received a dismissal notice the day after renewing a one-year contract. One architect, unable to afford a new tire after a puncture, said they were getting by on a spare until a cheaper replacement could be found, adding ruefully, "Compared with before, everyone has become poorer."
A former engineer, unable to cover surging housing costs, was pushed out to a semi-slum on the outskirts of the capital.
Economic Strain Drives Search for Diplomatic Compromise as Rial Hits Record Low
This economic pressure is affecting Iran's diplomatic and domestic political situation. Several diplomatic sources said severe economic hardship is also behind Iran's recent search for a diplomatic compromise, including a proposal to the United States for a "seven-day plan" to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian authorities violently suppressed thousands of protesters demonstrating against economic hardship in January.
But the Iranians interviewed all said the immediate problem of putting food on the table is so urgent that they have no time even to think about protests.
Meanwhile, the Iranian currency again set a record low. According to the Associated Press, the rial traded at more than 2.5 million to the U.S. dollar in Tehran's foreign exchange market that day. That marked a new low less than a month after it hit 2.2 million rial to the dollar on the 2nd.
The value of the Iranian rial has repeatedly set new lows since the war broke out in February.
