Bold reality check: Iran’s economy is squeezing family life to its core, changing daily choices that once felt routine. Here’s a clear, beginner-friendly rephrasing that keeps every key point and adds a bit of context for better understanding.
The cost of living has spiraled, and many Iranians are feeling the pinch in real time. In Isfahan, a woman named Marjan recalls a past routine—she and her family used to eat out twice a month. Now, those meals are a luxury they can’t afford, and the money saved for dining is redirected to cover rent. For six years, she supported herself by selling wooden crafts and keychains through Instagram, joining a large wave of Iranian women pursuing online small-scale businesses. Yet a government internet blackout in early January, part of a broad crackdown on national protests, abruptly cut off her income. When the internet returned, the business landscape had shifted dramatically. Previously, her monthly sales hovered around 300 million rials (roughly $185 on the open market). Today, sales have dwindled to around 30 million rials—a stark one-tenth of their former level.
Marjan and her husband now face the possibility of selling their car to cover debts and keep up with rent. She is candid about the bleak odds: if the trend continues, she may need to seek a new job. Yet she notes that opportunities across sectors are struggling, making a viable “Plan B” elusive.
Public unrest began as a response to rising living costs and quickly broadened into discontent with the regime’s policies, a sentiment that intensified as the economic squeeze deepened in the weeks that followed.
Affording basic necessities is increasingly difficult due to high inflation. In Tehran, Mina—a 44-year-old mother of two—describes a sharp price surge: beef jumped from 7 million rials per kilo to 19 million in short order, and Iranian rice rose from about 1.7 million to 3.8 million per kilo. Official data show that over the last year, prices for essential goods rose on average by 60%, with food costs doubling in the same period. This is not a one-year blip; the cost of a typical family’s food basket is now eight times higher than five years ago and more than 30 times higher than in 2016.
Inflation has become a near-constant backdrop: Amir, a 29-year-old English teacher in Karaj, notes monthly price increases of around 10%. He recalls spring prices: a hamburger cost 5 million rials then; today, it costs about 12 million. Rising costs push families to substitute expensive items with cheaper options like chicken, cheese, or beans. The Central Bank data illustrate a long-term shift: per-household consumption of beef and lamb has fallen from 64 kg in 2004/05 to 32 kg in 2024/25.
To cope, many families trim nonessential purchases and even forgo travel. Mina has stopped buying branded goods and hasn’t taken a foreign holiday since 2017. A domestic trip can cost a family of four around 800 million rials, whereas in 2017 a European trip might have cost merely 200 million. The drag from soaring prices is so severe that the rial’s rapid depreciation is a central driver of hardship: since May 2018, following the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal and the reimposition of sanctions, the rial has lost more than 95% of its value against the dollar.
The past year has been especially volatile. A currency plunge helped spark protests in Tehran’s bazaar in late December, protests that were met with brutal force and deadly crackdowns. Since then, the rial has continued to weaken, further inflating prices.
For fixed-income households, the erosion of purchasing power is acute. Sima, a 60-year-old Tehran retiree, explains a stark financial trajectory: her nominal salary rose from 50 million rials in 2015 to 130 million in 2020, but the corresponding dollar value dropped from about $1,500 to roughly $520. Today her pension, at around 300 million rials, is worth less than $200 on the open market. The result is a generation that can’t upgrade technologies or cars as before, let alone fund international travel.
A BBC Persian analysis of two decades of data shows a persistent decline: real-terms household spending in urban areas fell by about 25%, and rural spending roughly halved. In other words, even as nominal figures rise, living standards have steadily deteriorated for the typical Iranian family.
This ongoing decline isn’t solely a result of sanctions. A combination of persistently high inflation, weak job creation, and scarce real GDP growth after sanctions has left many households poorer than they were years ago. The situation deteriorated further in the past 12 months.
The economy has also been strained by ongoing geopolitical tension. A 12-day conflict with Israel last June, along with US air strikes on Iranian facilities, kept business sentiment risk-averse. Although talks about a new agreement resumed in February, the prospect of Trump-era demands and potential military action has done little to reassure investors. A private-sector spokesperson notes that investors aren’t planning expansions or hiring—they’re trying simply to protect what they have. Investment officials say capital is shifting toward assets like foreign currency and gold instead of productive businesses.
Compounding matters, Iran faces critical infrastructure shortfalls: electricity, natural gas, and water supplies are strained due to years of underinvestment and poor management. In winter, gas supplies to factories are cut for days or weeks, and electricity outages are common in warmer months. Many households regularly experience blackouts and water shortages in larger cities.
Amid this backdrop of economic fragility, a broader standoff with the United States—described by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a state of perpetual “not war, not peace”—casts a long shadow over business and consumer confidence. For young people like Parham, a 26-year-old from Tehran, the cumulative effect is a growing sense that social stability may soon be tested if conditions don’t improve.
Would you agree that these pressures warrant bold policy changes, or do you think the current approach can still weather the storm? Share your perspective on what would most effectively stabilize families and revive opportunity in Iran.
