Iran Economy

Trump says US-Iran discussions are productive and rules out an attack on Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, while the US blockade of Iranian ports remains in effect.

The rare admission from Mohsen Rezaei, the security chief, came weeks after the US tightened sanctions and its naval blockade

Medication prices are soaring in Iran and some treatments have become hard to find, leaving patients and their families scrambling as a US blockade and stepped-up sanctions squeeze the country's pharmaceuticals industry. Some medicines have more than tripled in price, further squeezing Iranians' finances seven months into the country's war with the United States and Israel. Prices for food and other goods have skyrocketed even as unemployment has risen and the currency, which hit a record low this week, has lost half its value. The war has become an economic endurance test. Iran has tried to push world energy prices higher with attacks on the region's oil shipping routes; the United States, in turn, has aimed to wreck Iran's economy by blockading its ports since June and slapping it with increasingly tough sanctions. Iran's pharmaceutical industry is vulnerable because of its reliance on imports. So far there has been little sign of major shortages of medicines at Iran's hospitals,

The sanctions threat goes beyond the airlines, targeting airports, ticketing companies, fuel suppliers, and other support businesses that help air carriers operate abroad

Iran early Tuesday introduced a higher price for its heaviest users of gasoline, state media reported, in the latest economic pinch caused by months of war. It's the second such hike since December. Such gas price increases can be sensitive and contribute to inflation. An increase in 2019 sparked nationwide protests and a crackdown that reportedly killed more than 300 people. Without specifically mentioning the war with the United States, the government's announcement cited the "current situation", adding that the extra money from the price increase will be given to households. Under the new system, people buying more than their quota of 110 litres (29 gallons) of gasoline a month now must pay 100,000 rials (about 7 cents) per litre, or twice as much as they have been paying since December. Iran still has some of the world's lowest gasoline prices, but the price increase adds to daily pressures for many of the country's more than 90 million people. Already, the currency has been .

The US has spent 20 years promising 'crippling sanctions' on Iran. But the latest effort comes with a reverse twist, after military action failed to accomplish President Trump's goals

US Treasury Secy Scott Bessent unveiled measures but stopped short of the most punishing sanctions, saying countries that continued trading with Iran risked being forced out of dollar system

But that's only if Bessent actually follows through on a threat the Trump administration has made before

The statement marked the latest bid to force capitulation from Iran, which has refused to bow to US demands despite months of US bombing that began in February as well as decades of economic sanctions

President Trump's threats of an 'economic D-Day' carry a clear signal to Iran that he does not want to go back to war

Bessent's comments followed President Trump's threat a day earlier of 'economic warfare' and warning of economic consequences against any country that provided 'any type of lifeline to Iran'

Sellers including middlemen and representatives from the National Iranian Oil Co. made contact with refiners in India, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere even before the license was officially granted

At least 11 tankers carrying a combined 20 million barrels were detected leaving the Iranian port of Chabahar in recent days, Bloomberg shipping data show

Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran were in their 'final throes', even as differences with Netanyahu surfaced over Israel's military actions in Lebanon

An imploding economy is causing hopelessness among both pro- and anti-government Iranians. And for those who wished for regime change, the letdown is palpable

Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz is throttling the world's energy supplies and inflicting global economic pain, but the struggles of the Islamic Republic's own economy are testing its ability to withstand the war and defy Washington's demands. Iranians have been hit by spiralling prices for food, medicine and other goods. At the same time, the country has seen mass job losses and business closures caused by strike damage to key industries and the government's monthslong shutdown of the internet. The economic cost of the war and the US naval blockade "has been very substantial and unprecedented for Iran," said Hadi Kahalzadeh, an Iranian economist and research fellow at Brandeis University. But Iran has withstood decades of economic pressure and sanctions, and its capacity to adapt has not been dismantled, Kahalzadeh said. "Iran can probably avoid a complete economic collapse or total shortage of essential goods, but at a very high cost," he said. "The main cost will be passed to

According to the Iranian state broadcaster, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the remarks in talks with Norway's deputy foreign minister during a meeting in Tehran

Iran imposed heavy restrictions on internet after Israel and US started their war on the country in late February, having earlier blocked online access during nationwide protests the previous month

The president is trying to ratchet up the economic pressure on Tehran, but Iran's government is unlikely to make a deal without a big, face-saving compromise

Bessent suggested that the Iranian petroleum sector is facing an imminent crisis and may be forced to begin shutting in wells in the next week, as the nation's crude storage is 'rapidly filling up'