Masoud has been forced to sell household appliances to survive amid Iran’s deep economic crisis. The US and Israeli bombing campaign has destroyed much of Iran’s infrastructure and industries, fueling soaring inflation and unemployment. “We sold our furniture just to survive,” Masoud, a resident of Tehran, told Radio Free Europe’s Radio Farda. He used the pseudonym out of fear of reprisals. “We collected the electrical appliances from the house, took out the carpets and things like that and sold them.”
Masoud, who is now unemployed, also makes sandwiches at home and sells them on the Tehran metro. “I took the juicer and sold it so I could pay the electricity, phone and maintenance bills for the building where I live,” he said.
“THE MONEY IS RUNNING OUT”
Massoud is not alone in this situation. Millions of Iranians are facing economic hardships that have been fueled by the three-month war. Years of international sanctions and government mismanagement have already crippled Iran’s economy. Now, the country of 90 million people is facing a complete economic collapse. “People are worried that they are running out of money,” Tehran-based economist Javad Rahimpour told Radio Farda. “Many of them are using their savings. You can see it on the streets: movement has been reduced and incomes have fallen.” While unemployment has risen, the prices of basic food, medicine and services have increased.
Masoud, a Tehran resident, said that a course of spinal injections that cost up to 80 million rials (about $47) a year ago now costs 400 million rials (about $234) — a sixfold increase. His monthly cell phone bill has increased from 300 rials (about 18 U.S. cents) to 1.7 million rials (about $1), while his electricity bill has jumped from 1.2 million rials (about $0.70) to 6 million rials (about $3.50). “We have all become poorer,” he said. “Those of us who were once middle class, or slightly above, are now in a miserable financial situation.”
Gholamhossein Mohammadi, deputy labor minister, said in April that the government estimated that the war had led to the loss of 1 million jobs and the direct or indirect unemployment of 2 million people. In March, food prices rose by 110 percent compared to the same month in 2025. The depreciation of purchasing power has spread throughout the economy. A woman who owns a restaurant near Iran’s Caspian Sea coast, a popular weekend destination for Tehran residents, said business has collapsed during the conflict. Thousands of people have fled the area since the US-Israeli bombing campaign began on February 28. “The first week or two was very busy. People came to the north with what savings they had left,” she told Radio Farda. “But, slowly, the number of customers decreased. Families of three or four would come in, look at the prices, and leave. Or they would order a meal for two and share it between them.”
Her restaurant employed 10 people before the war. Now the staff has been reduced to three. Many other businesses in the area, she said, have closed down completely. “I just hope we survive,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t know if continuing to work is even possible.”
US ECONOMIC PRESSURE
During the current conflict, the United States and Israel have intensified economic pressure on Iran. US and Israeli attacks have destroyed or damaged the country’s key energy and transportation infrastructure, including bridges, roads, and oil and gas storage facilities. Important industries, including manufacturing, have also been targeted, disrupting domestic production and driving up the prices of basic foodstuffs. On April 13, the United States imposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports and ships, cutting off Iran’s oil exports, the mainstay of its economy.
The US embargo was imposed in response to Iran’s seizure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global oil and gas supplies, early in the war. By threatening and attacking international shipping, Iran has brought maritime traffic to a near-total halt, disrupting international energy markets and destabilizing the global economy.
The targeting and destruction of key Iranian industries has angered many Iranians. Among the targets was Mobarakeh Steel, one of Iran’s largest industrial facilities, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Hit several times by airstrikes, the facility completely halted production in April. “Even without sanctions, I don’t think Mobarakeh would be able to return to its previous state even in 10 or 20 years,” said the restaurant owner, adding that the attacks on the country’s industrial base have left a “permanent scar.”
INTERNET DISRUPTION AS AN ECONOMIC WEAPON
Compounding the economic impact of the war, Iran imposed a months-long internet blackout, one of the longest in modern history. For 88 days, millions of Iranians lived in digital darkness. But the blockade, which ended on May 26, also came at a huge economic cost.
Afshin Kolahi, an official with the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, said during a meeting on April 12 that the internet outage was costing the country up to $40 million a day. Indirect losses, he said, were as much as $80 million a day. “Many people who made their living online lost everything when the internet went down,” Masudi said, adding that he himself was one of them.
“Their incomes have dropped to zero.” The deadly mass protests that erupted in January were initially fueled by economic discontent before morphing into demonstrations against Iran’s clerical leadership. “The level of dissatisfaction with the economic situation is very high. It is not something that can be hidden with words or writing,” said Rahimpour, the Tehran-based economist. “The conditions for protests may not exist at the moment,” he said. “But that should not lead us to conclude that there is some kind of rapprochement between the state and the people.” The alarm, he said, is already being raised. “People are extremely worried on many fronts. The cost of living has increased, they are losing opportunities, and their investments in their children’s futures are being put at risk,” he said. (RFE)