{"id":2778,"date":"2026-08-21T09:36:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T09:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2778"},"modified":"2026-08-21T09:36:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T09:36:55","slug":"iranian-families-struggle-to-afford-the-basics-as-us-ratchets-up-economic-warfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2778","title":{"rendered":"Iranian families struggle to afford the basics as US ratchets up economic warfare"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) \u2014 Tehran\u2019s grocery stores are well-stocked, but many families can barely afford the basics. Unemployment is soaring and those with jobs are working more hours for money worth half as much as a year ago<\/span>, putting food, medicine and everything else \u2014 except for heavily subsidized gasoline \u2014 further out of reach.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have virtually given up on many things,\u201d said Ahmad Karimi, 52, a taxi driver and father of two who has been working 15-hour days to make ends meet. \u201cWe\u2019re cutting out fruit, we\u2019re cutting out protein, we\u2019ve given up leisure, we even work on weekends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly six months into the war<\/span> with the United States and Israel, the Iranian economy is taking a beating under the force of sanctions and a naval blockade<\/span> that is making it extremely difficult for the country to export oil, its most valuable product.<\/p>\n

Whether this intensifying economic pressure will translate anytime soon into military or political concessions from Iran remains to be seen \u2014 but some experts are skeptical. Since the war began, Iran has been attacking oil-rich neighbors and U.S. bases in the region, and disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz<\/span>, its biggest strategic advantage.<\/p>\n

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Iran is trying to use this retaliatory pressure<\/span> \u2014 which is driving up energy prices globally \u2014 to bring the war to an end on the best terms possible. It is pressing for sanctions relief, and seeking enough control over the strait<\/span> to demand payment from ships passing through to deliver energy and other goods.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration \u2014 which is stuck fighting over a waterway in a war that was launched to curb Iran\u2019s nuclear program<\/span> \u2014 is now promising to deliver even tougher sanctions<\/span> to try to squeeze the Islamic Republic into submission. But experts say U.S. President Donald Trump<\/span> may be underestimating how long Iran can hold out. <\/p>\n

Iran has been subject to Western sanctions for years and has become deft at partially circumventing them. It has expanded domestic production, used informal cross-border trade networks, bought restricted goods through third countries, and used a shadow fleet to transport its oil.<\/p>\n

\u201cIran\u2019s resistance capacity not only avoids collapse, it also prevents the economic pain from translating into the political pressure and changes that the U.S. expects,\u201d said Hadi Kahalzadeh, an expert on Iran\u2019s economy at Brandeis University.<\/p>\n

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Iran\u2019s economic strains carry an \u2018emotional toll\u2019<\/h2>\n

Tehran\u2019s sprawling Grand Bazaar is regularly packed with shoppers hoping to find more affordable staples than at the country\u2019s grocery stores, where rice is 60% more expensive and beef is 150% more expensive than before the war.<\/p>\n

A mother of two from northern Iran posted a photo on X this week after purchasing milk, eggs, toilet paper and a few other items, but no meat. She complained that it cost 89 million rials (about $65).<\/p>\n

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\u201cBuying basic necessities has become our main priority, and our shopping basket has gotten smaller and more limited,\u201d the 41-year-old told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe emotional toll and the pressure we\u2019re under are another story,\u201d she said. \u201cEvery time we have to say no to our children, every time we have to go back and forth over a decision, whether it\u2019s a class you\u2019d love your children to take or something they really want you to buy for them, it\u2019s genuinely exhausting.\u201d<\/p>\n

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