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Economic pressure deepens
Iranian families in Tehran and beyond say they are struggling to afford basics as the United States ratchets up economic warfare, with AP reporting that grocery stores are well-stocked but many families can barely afford food and medicine.
““We have virtually given up on many things,” said Ahmad Karimi, 52”
AP quotes Ahmad Karimi, a 52-year-old taxi driver and father of two, saying, “We have virtually given up on many things,” as he works 15-hour days to make ends meet.
AP also reports that unemployment is soaring and that those with jobs are working more hours for money worth half as much as a year ago, while the economy is taking a beating under sanctions and a naval blockade that makes it extremely difficult to export oil.
The pressure is playing out alongside a wider regional conflict that AP describes as involving Iran attacking oil-rich neighbors and U.S. bases and disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which AP calls Iran’s biggest strategic advantage.
AP adds that by the end of the year inflation in Iran is expected to rise nearly 70% and the economy is forecast to shrink by more than 5%, while gasoline remains cheap due to subsidies but may face tighter supplies.
Tehran declares victory
In parallel with the economic strain, CBS News reports that Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday the world had “approved” the country’s victory over the U.S. and that the war should therefore end.
CBS News also reports that Iran warned countries against participating in the United States’ “economic war,” with Mohsen Rezai, the head of Iran's supreme national security council, saying on state television, “Any country participating in the imposition of economic restrictions against us is considered an enemy.”
CBS News says Egypt’s foreign minister spoke by phone with Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday in an effort to restart negotiations to end the war, and that the call discussed Iran continuing talks with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz or returning to the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding from June.
CBS News further reports that Iran granted some Iraqi oil tankers permission to transit through the Strait of Hormuz after repeated requests from Baghdad, according to state media reports on Saturday.
The same CBS News package says President Trump earlier this week promised “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” while China opposed the sanctions approach, saying it opposes “illegal unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law and are not authorised by the UN Security Council.”
Strait of Hormuz stakes
As the economic campaign intensifies, NPR reports that Iran dismisses Trump’s threats to crush Iran economically, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf saying the “economic D-Day” shows Washington is unable to prevail militarily.
“"The Americans and the Israelis have realized that they cannot handle Iran”
NPR quotes Ghalibaf saying, “The Americans and the Israelis have realized that they cannot handle Iran … in the field of a hard military war, so they have entered into a cognitive war and an economic war,” during a visit to neighboring Iraq.
NPR also reports that a U.S. blockade is still in place and Iran is still heavily restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which NPR calls a crucial oil waterway, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatens secondary sanctions and says Iran will face the “greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.”
Kurdistan24 reports that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei issued a sweeping threat on Saturday warning that Tehran will target the interests of any country helping the United States wage economic warfare against the Islamic Republic.
Kurdistan24 adds that Rezaei declared that any opening of the Strait of Hormuz will be managed by Iran and will carry a transit fee, while also stating the position has no connection to the separate Iran-Oman agreement on the strait's middle route.