US Sanctions and War Intensify Economic Collapse in Iran

The U.S. strategy deepens the crisis in Iran, where annual inflation reached 66% last month. The Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, called for addressing 'the chain of economic challenges, such as unemployment and price and market management'

Iranian leaders are acknowledging the economic toll of war with the US, ‌with the supreme leader urging the government to address the hardship and the president saying foreign trade has shrunk by a third due to the American sanctions and blockade. Yet Tehran signaled no retreat Saturday, vowing to withstand US pressure, pursue diplomacy and maintain what it said was control over the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway giving Iran leverage through its ability ‌to disrupt global energy market

Six months after the US and Israel launched war on Iran, negotiations are at an impasse as Washington ramps up efforts to punish Tehran financially.

War weighs on Iran economy as US intensifies sanctions  aapnews.aap.com.au

US sanctions choke Iran’s economy, but regime change remains a challenge  The Jerusalem Post

Pezeshkian indicated that exports and imports have dropped between 25% and 35% and warned about difficulties in gasoline supply, which could raise its price.

Iranian leaders acknowledge the worsening economic consequences of the war with the United States, with the Supreme Leader calling on the government to engage in a struggle against economic difficulties, and the president stating that external trade has decreased by a third due to American [...]. The article 'War Pressures Iranian Economy as US Intensifies Sanctions' appeared for the first time on Novi list.

Iranian leaders are acknowledging the economic toll of war with the US, with the supreme leader urging the government to address the hardship and the president saying foreign trade has shrunk by a third due to the American sanctions and blockade. Yet Tehran signalled no retreat on Saturday, vowing to withstand US pressure, pursue diplomacy and maintain what it said was control over the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway giving Iran leverage through its ability to disrupt global energy markets. The government said in a statement on state media that addressing economic pressures caused by sanctions and war was a central focus, including curbing inflation, managing markets, creating jobs, directing investment towards domestic production and gradually reducing dependence on the dollar. Six months after the US and Israel launched the war, negotiations are at an impasse and President Donald Trump’s administration has stepped up efforts to punish Iran financially with what it has billed as an “economic D-Day”. Sanctions compund toll on Iran’s economy Washington has warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions, though the Treasury Department stopped short of imposing penalties against major Iranian trade partners such as China and India, which could have repercussions for the US and global economies. The Treasury imposed sanctions on Egypt’s Banque Misr for doing business with Tehran, proposing a rule that would cut off the bank’s branches in the United Arab Emirates from dollar transactions. Egypt’s central bank said it and the foreign ministry were in contact with US officials concerning the matter, adding the measure was limited to Banque Misr UAEs US dollar transactions with correspondent banks only. Banque Misr said later in a statement it was reviewing the US Treasury notice, adding that its branch in the UAE continued to provide banking services to its customers in line with applicable rules and procedures. The US also issued sanctions targeting an entity based in Hong Kong and a person linked to Iran’s Bank Melli, according to a notice on the Treasury website. The sanctions drive compounds the toll of the war on Iran’s economy, where annual inflation hit 66 per cent last month. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei who has not been seen publicly since initial February 28 attack that assassinated his father and former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on the government to tackle the economic hardship. “There is the need to seriously address the chain of economic and livelihood challenges, such as inflation, unemployment, management of prices and the market for goods and services,” according to a written statement attributed to Khamenei. President Masoud Pezeshkian told state media that Iranian exports and imports had slumped nearly 35pc because of US sanctions and a naval blockade of Iranian ports. But he said Iran was able to sell about 90 million barrels of oil during the short-lived memorandum of understanding that the US and Iran signed in June, when Washington permitted Iranian oil sales. Iran vows to pursue diplomacy and defence With the US focused on its economic pressure campaign, others have sought to revive diplomatic efforts to end the war. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met with Iranian leaders in Tehran on Thursday. He said he had stressed during the meeting the importance of returning to the pre-war status of open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Friday described the talks with Al Thani as “creative”. In Saturday’s statement, Iran said diplomacy and defence were “two complementary, coordinated and inseparable wings” for protecting the country’s national interests, security and territorial integrity. It said it would pursue both tracks in a balanced manner. Qatar, a US ally and Gulf neighbour to Iran, and Pakistan helped broker the Islamabad memorandum of understanding that led to a brief ceasefire before disagreements over the vital strait caused it to unravel. Before the war, the waterway carried 20pc of the world’s oil and LNG. US military commanders claim American forces have cleared sea mines from the strait that had been laid months ago by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Trump has repeatedly said the Strait of Hormuz is open, but the Revolutionary Guards’ navy said in a statement that such claims “are an obvious lie”, reiterating that the waterway remained closed to ships without Iranian permission. Only seven commodity vessels transited the strait on Thursday, down from 17 a day earlier and below the 10-day average of 15, preliminary shipping data showed on Friday.

War weighs on Iran’s economy as US intensifies sanctions  Al Arabiya English

War weighs on Iran’s economy as US intensifies sanctions  Arab News

CAIRO: Iran condemned new economic sanctions imposed by the United States (US) as a form of state terrorism.

War weighs on Iran's economy as US intensifies sanctions  The Straits Times

War weighs on Iran's economy as US intensifies sanctions  Reuters

Iran lashes out at US sanctions amid economic toll at home  RNZ