Inflation in Iran is skyrocketing - and citizens are collapsing under the economic burden: "We have given up on fruits and proteins"
In the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, they are working around the clock to bring grain and medicine into the country, but residents have no way to purchase basic products. Iranian officials continue to deny the economic crisis: "The situation is under control." At the same time, there are reports of a 150% increase in meat prices.
US President Donald Trump continues to lead an economic operation aimed at pressuring Iran - and the Iranian public is collapsing under the burden - as reported today, Sunday, by the AP news agency. According to the report, the price of rice is currently 60% higher than in the period before the war, and the price of meat has risen by about 150%.
Against the backdrop of the economic escalation, the newspaper Iran International, which is identified with opponents of the Iranian regime, reported that even before Trump's announcement, the effects of price increases were documented in Iran. The Central Bank of Iran confirmed work around the clock on releasing grain and medicine from customs at the port of Bandar Abbas.
In Iran, they continue to deny reports of an economic crisis. The Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdolnaser Hemmati, insists that the crisis is under control:
"Some thought that hyperinflation would occur, but it did not happen," he claimed in a special broadcast last Wednesday.
It is not only prices in the country that are rising. The Iranian currency is at an unprecedented low, having crossed the threshold of two million rials to one dollar on the free market. The AP agency reports that the percentage of unemployed in the country continues to skyrocket, with one hour of work worth half of what it was about a year ago. Ahmad Karimi, a resident of Tehran, said: "We have stopped buying fruits, proteins, we are forced to work even on weekends."
Last week, President Trump announced an "economic D-Day," which he defined as "the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country." The American president's threats were not only against Iran. In his post on the social network Truth, Trump threatened the countries that would "dare" to help Iran with the sanctions that will be imposed on it:
"Any country that allows the supply of a lifeline to Iran will face economic consequences itself."
Parallel to the economic escalation, sources in the security establishment estimate that the chances of expanding the military confrontation between Iran and the United States in the near future have decreased. According to the estimates, the use of economic sanctions is being done in order to prevent an expanded military confrontation until after the midterm elections in the United States.
Despite the threats from President Trump, it is still unclear whether the US will succeed in deterring the countries supporting the Iranian regime from transferring funds and raw materials to the country. In the security establishment, they say that without aggressive American enforcement, Trump will not achieve the desired result.
In addition to the sanctions against Iran, the United States announced last week a series of new sanctions against Hezbollah, and even changed the organization's definition to a "specially designated global terrorist organization." An American official emphasized that the measures against Hezbollah are separate from the actions taken against Iran.
