US-Israel war on Iran News | Al Jazeera Skip linksSkip to Contentplay Live Sign upShow navigation menuNavigation menuNewsShow more news sectionsAfrica.
Iran’s economy has been crippled by decades of US and international sanctions, especially over its nuclear programme – the Iranian rial has crashed and inflation woes are piling up misery for people.
The US-Israel war on Iran, launched on February 28, worsened the economic woes for the country of some 92 million people.
list 1 of 4New US sanctions signal Trump desperation on Iran, experts say.
list 2 of 4Iran bets economic pain will pressure Trump in game of ‘chicken’.
list 3 of 4Iran, Oman agree on new temporary route in Hormuz.
list 4 of 4Trump threatens Iran’s partners: How do secondary sanctions work.
To understand how much everyday items now cost, Al Jazeera tracked the prices of food, clothing and medicines on the streets of Tehran, comparing them with what the same goods cost in the days before the war.
How much do basic necessities cost in Iran.
Before the war, 2 million rials could buy about 4kg of tomatoes, half a kilo of chicken and a little less than a litre of cooking oil.
Today, the same amount buys about half as much, with the average price of tomatoes increasing by 71 percent, chicken by 74 percent and cooking oil by 177 percent.
The price of insulin, the baseline survival for diabetics, has shot up by 642 percent, while essential medicine like paracetamol has become dearer by 93 percent, and baby formula, largely subsidised by the government, has become costlier by 95 percent.
The graphic below breaks down the average costs of food, clothing and medicine before the war and on Wednesday. Prices remain highly volatile, and the figures reflect average values.
?Our only concern is making it to the end of the month with the income we have’.
For Iranian families, this has meant changing not only how much they buy, but also what they eat.
Afsaneh*, a 35-year-old mother of a one-year-old who lives with her husband in Tehran, says her family’s weekly grocery bill has increased by 20 to 30 percent.
Toman is the term Iranians use for the rial as an unofficial unit equal to 10 Iranian rials, widely used because it makes the country’s large currency figures easier to manage.
The government subsidy on baby formula helps families like Afsaneh’s, but their monthly wellness checkups and nutritional supplements are not covered by insurance, making it difficult to afford quality care for their infant.
For Afsaneh, their small family is limited to survival and covering food and other necessities. “Many purchases, such as new clothes or upgrading our car, have been cut from our plans.
And I don’t think things are going to get better anytime soon,” she said.
?Everything has become more expensive’.
War damage has disrupted production, while a US naval blockade of Iranian ports has complicated imports and exports.
While the falling rial has pushed up the cost of goods, sanctions have restricted Iran’s access to international markets. At the same time, wages have failed to keep pace.
Zamir*, a 35-year-old man from Tehran who works in men’s retail fashion, told Al Jazeera that sales have dropped by 40 percent compared with last year, and he is struggling to keep his business running.
He says many retailers are selling their summer stock below cost, and in the autumn this new wave of price increases will be reflected in retail stores.
Widening gap between income and expenditure.
For those living on salaries, inflation creates another problem: the value of today’s pay can fall before the next payday.
Salama*, 28, is a mother of one who works as a fisher in Hormozgan, Iran’s southern coastal province, overseeing the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
For her, the rising cost of groceries has had a big impact.
Salama* says her income, instead of increasing, has actually decreased, forcing her to limit expenses severely.
The war did not create Iran’s economic problems, but it has magnified them. War damage, disrupted production and the blockade have added new pressures, while unemployment and stagnant purchasing power have reduced families’ ability to absorb them.
For millions of Iranians, the question is no longer how much prices have risen, but how much of a month’s food, housing and necessities a month’s salary can still buy.
*Names have been changed to protect identities.
Fontes
Informação baseada em material público de Al Jazeera, reescrito pela redação ULTRA NOTÍCIAS.
