The Iranian government acknowledged on Friday that US sanctions and the war are placing increasing pressure on the economy and the population’s livelihood, and the Iranian rial continues to decline to a record low level, while the central bank pledged to intervene in the exchange market to contain “unnatural fluctuations.”
Government spokeswoman Fatima Mohajerani said that the authorities “do not deny the economic pressures on people or shortages,” noting that US sanctions have affected the financing and implementation of infrastructure projects across the country.
Mohajerani said that delays in project completion “should not be attributed to the incompetence of managers; Because the severe sanctions affected the process of securing resources and implementing projects.” She added that the government will continue working to complete unfinished projects despite the existing restrictions, according to the official IRNA agency.
The riyal is collapsing
The government recognition came as the riyal continued to decline in the free market, reaching about 2.2 million riyals to the dollar, its lowest level ever, under the weight of tightening US sanctions, the blockade imposed on oil exports, and the disruption of foreign trade.
In contrast, the official price set by the government remained at about 42,000 riyals to the dollar, which left a wide gap between the official price and that circulating in the market on which most Iranians depend to obtain foreign currencies.
As pressures mounted on the exchange market, Central Bank Governor Abdel Nasser Hemmati pledged to intervene “in a timely and forceful manner” if currency rates deviate from what he called “the basic realities of the economy.”
Hemmati told state television that the war with the United States had caused “unnatural fluctuations in the market,” without announcing specific measures to stop the currency’s decline.
He added: “The more prices move away from economic realities, the intervention will occur so that market participants do not consider that the movements are moving in one direction.”
Hemmati denied that there was a severe shortage of foreign currencies allocated for import, and said that the volume of currency provided by the Central Bank for imports since the beginning of the year had declined by only 15 percent compared to the same period last year, despite the war, external restrictions, and trade disruption.
According to the Central Bank Governor, the bank has strengthened its reserves, and the available resources are still “sufficient to continue covering commercial needs in future scenarios.” He also said that the bank has prepared tools for hedging and preserving the value of assets, to reduce the transfer of reserve and speculative demand to the currency market.
Narrow financing channels
The statements of Iranian officials match a more difficult picture drawn by three high-ranking Iranian sources who spoke to Reuters about the effects of the US economic campaign.
The sources said that the latest US measures have become more severe on Tehran, after the number of channels available to secure foreign currencies and purchase goods decreased.
She added that Washington's efforts to deprive Iran of access to international financing networks in other countries have become a "real and urgent" threat, after Tehran has relied on these networks for years to maintain the flow of money and finance trade.
According to the sources, the same financial pressures are now hindering Iran’s ability to circumvent the sanctions. The liquidity available to pay the high bonuses demanded by front companies, unregistered oil tankers and smuggling routes has decreased.
One source said that the country only has gasoline stocks sufficient for about two additional months. Iran is forced to import fuel despite its crude oil production due to its limited refining capacity.
The Iranian leadership is aware of the risks of worsening the economic crisis and the possibility of a renewal of the protests that swept the country in January, and were suppressed by the authorities, leading to the killing of thousands of demonstrators.
A senior Iranian official said that Tehran is betting that inflation risks will push President Donald Trump's administration to be cautious before the midterm elections in November, while the Iranian authorities believe that Washington is seeking to increase internal pressure on it.
Collapse of oil exports
The decline in oil sales is one of the most prominent indicators of new pressures. Kpler data showed that Iranian crude shipments fell this month to about 260,000 barrels per day, compared to about 1.7 million barrels per day a year ago.
Only limited quantities are leaving Iranian ports, while other shipments are transported by trucks, trains, or small boats across the Caspian Sea.
One source said that Tehran still has tens of millions of barrels stored on tankers outside the blockade zone and can sell them, but the new sanctions may prompt brokers to withdraw or demand larger bonuses in exchange for completing deals.
In another indication of the contraction in trade activity, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the total volume of trade fell by between 25 and 35 percent, and that imports were affected more than exports.
The pressures increased after the UAE announced on August 19 that it was suspending all commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Tehran until further notice, which disrupted one of the main channels on which Iranian trade relied.
An Iranian merchant who works in importing goods said that keeping these channels closed prompts suppliers to request payment in cash, and forces merchants to pass deals through other countries, which delays the arrival of shipments and raises their cost.
Inflation puts pressure on livelihood
The crisis is directly reflected in living standards. Official data indicate that average inflation during the past twelve months reached 69.9 percent, while the prices of food, beverages and tobacco rose at a rate of nearly double this percentage.
The official unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent in the spring, while the number of employed people decreased by about 450,000 people compared to the previous year, coinciding with a broader decline in the labor market participation rate.
The average monthly salary, amounting to about $125, is not enough to cover the basic needs of a family, which are estimated at about $450 per month, according to official data.
The Iranian economy was already suffering from a weak currency and high inflation before the war, before months of bombing added the burden of rebuilding damaged industrial facilities and infrastructure.
Arif threatens Washington
In parallel with the government's acknowledgment of internal pressures, First Vice President Mohamed Reza Arif said that the recent American attacks changed Tehran's security calculations and defense doctrine.
Arif wrote on the “X” platform that the Iranian response will from now on be “unequal, multi-layered, and rob the aggressor of his security.”
He also issued an economic warning to the United States, saying: “Americans should think about storing gasoline and fuel; Dark months await the American economy.
His statements came at a time when Iran itself is facing pressure in the fuel market, with queues appearing in front of gasoline stations, especially for trucks, and the continued internal debate regarding the possibility of raising fuel prices.
Arif's positions sparked criticism in some Iranian media, which called on him to focus on inflation, market turmoil, and managing the economic file instead of warning of economic repercussions on the United States.
Sanctions and blockades
In recent weeks, Washington has escalated secondary sanctions on institutions, banks, and companies that deal with Iran, in parallel with the blockade imposed on oil exports, in an attempt to reduce Tehran’s ability to use the dollar and finance its vital imports.
The US administration believes that intensifying economic pressure may extract concessions that were not achieved after six months of fighting, while Tehran warned that it may meet the pressure with further military escalation.
With shrinking oil revenues and difficulty accessing foreign currencies, the Iranian government is simultaneously facing the cost of financing imports, operating sanctions circumvention networks, financing domestic spending, and rebuilding the damage left by the war.
On Friday, the United States expanded its economic campaign against Iran by imposing sanctions on three entities based in Türkiye, in the latest step in the effort of President Donald Trump’s administration to tighten the noose on financial networks linked to Tehran.
On Friday, the United States imposed new Iran-related sanctions on three entities based in Turkey, in the latest step in President Donald Trump's administration's campaign to tighten economic pressure on Tehran six months after the outbreak of war.
The US Treasury Department stated that the sanctions targeted the “Golden Global Portfolio Management Company,” the “Golden Global Asset Leasing Company Limited,” and the “Golden Global Investment Bank.”
The ministry also issued a general license allowing the gradual termination of transactions with the three sanctioned entities.
The measure represents the latest step in the Trump administration's campaign to put economic pressure on Iran, in light of a war that has pushed energy prices up globally.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besent, who last month announced tougher economic sanctions on Iran, said Washington was seeking to force Tehran to return to the negotiating table.
Last week, Washington moved to stop Banque Misr branches in the Emirates from trading in dollars due to their dealings with Iran.
Besant said in an interview with Reuters on Sunday that the Treasury Department is expected to impose new secondary sanctions every week, initially focusing on banks, as part of a broader campaign to intensify economic pressure on Iran.
The sanctions on Turkish entities came after another American step, last week, targeting the branches of the “Bank of Egypt” in the Emirates. Washington moved to prevent it from conducting transactions in US dollars because of its dealings with Iran.
The secondary sanctions focus on non-Iranian institutions and entities that continue to deal with Tehran, threatening to deprive them of access to the US financial system and the dollar if they continue those relationships.
European Union
Earlier Friday, Besant said the European Union had “officially joined” “Operation Economic Pariah,” the name the Trump administration uses for its campaign to financially isolate Iran.
“The European Union has officially joined Operation Economic Pariah, and we appreciate its strong and early stance,” Besant wrote on the “X” platform.
He added that the United States stands with its allies to ensure that the Iranian regime is not able to use the global financial system to finance its nuclear program, weapons programs, and allied groups. He said: “The world is sending a clear message to the Iranian regime: We will not stop until every remaining financial artery is cut.”
Two days ago, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Asheville, the European Commission announced its support for the US sanctions imposed on Iran.
Expanding the circle of participants in the campaign represents a key axis in Washington's strategy, which seeks to prevent Tehran from transferring its transactions to banks and companies in other countries whenever one of its financial channels is exposed to sanctions.
Economic pressure
The new round of sanctions comes at a time when the United States and Iran are not holding direct talks, although back channels through mediators continue.
In previous statements, Besant had linked the economic escalation to an attempt to change Tehran's calculations and push it towards a new negotiation, while the Trump administration stressed in recent weeks that it is not ready to return to previous understandings under the same conditions.
The tightening of sanctions coincided with a naval blockade on Iranian exports and increasing pressure on banks and companies that help Tehran sell oil or settle its payments and finance its imports.
Recent measures showed an increasing focus on intermediaries and institutions outside Iran, after Tehran relied for years on financial and trade networks in other countries to circumvent US restrictions.
Moscow responds to Besant
American pressure extended to Iran's trade relations with Russia, China and India. Besant called on Moscow to "stay away" from Tehran following Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that his country would provide assistance to Iran.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Besant's comments, saying that the United States cannot monopolize relations with other countries.
“It is unlikely that the United States will be able to monopolize relations with any country, or that it will have the right to do so,” Peskov said in an interview with the TV program “Vesti” on Thursday. He added: “We have our partners and friends. We will maintain these friendly relations and partnership relations, and continue to develop them.”
Diplomats said on Friday that the United States, Britain, France and Germany are pressuring the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency to pass a resolution next week that refers Iran to the Security Council, on the grounds of violating its obligations related to nuclear non-proliferation, according to Reuters.
The move comes as the agency says it is still unable to verify the location or condition of an essential part of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, with its inspectors still absent from major nuclear facilities damaged in the June 2025 strikes.
If passed, the draft resolution would complement a resolution adopted by the Board of Governors on June 12, 2025, the day before Israel began striking Iranian nuclear facilities, and the United States joined the campaign shortly thereafter.
The 2025 resolution concluded that Iran had violated its safeguards and non-proliferation obligations due to its failure to fully cooperate with the agency’s investigation into traces of uranium found in undeclared sites.
Stock out of verification
A confidential IAEA report, distributed to member states this week, said inspectors were still unable to determine the location or condition of Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to levels close to those used to make weapons.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that the lack of information about these materials and the lack of access to facilities to verify them represents “a source of concern related to nuclear proliferation,” calling on Tehran to allow the inspectors to return “with the utmost urgency.”
Before the June 2025 strikes, the agency estimated that Iran possessed 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60 percent, a percentage technically close to the 90 percent level used in nuclear weapons.
According to the agency's standard, this quantity, if enriched to a higher degree, is sufficient to produce fissile material for about ten nuclear weapons.
The loss of “continuity of knowledge” does not mean that the agency has proven the disappearance of the materials or their use, but rather that it no longer has connected data that would allow it to independently verify the locations and quantities of the inventory.
Inspectors outside key sites
IAEA inspectors have not yet returned to Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, sites linked to a major part of the enrichment operations and stockpiles that were under supervision before the strikes.
Inspections in Iran fell by more than half during 2025 after Tehran imposed additional restrictions following the Twelve Day War.
Iran is scheduled to allow inspectors to visit the Bushehr nuclear power plant in mid-September, but this does not yet include the main damaged sites.
The war disrupted the nuclear path
The nuclear ambiguity worsened with the war that began on February 28 with American and Israeli attacks on Iran.
A temporary understanding was concluded in June that was supposed to pave the way for negotiations including the nuclear program, but it quickly collapsed, and the talks were not resumed.
US President Donald Trump says that preventing Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon is one of the goals of the war, while Tehran denies that it is seeking to make an atomic bomb.
Next week, the IAEA's Board of Governors is scheduled to discuss Grossi's report and the draft resolution that Washington and its allies are pushing for, in a move that may once again transfer the Iranian file from Vienna to the Security Council.
