Soaring cost of food and other staples squeezes Iranians as threat of US attack looms

Iranians face a sudden surge in prices for food and daily essentials, and many families say they cannot keep up

TEHRAN, Iran -- Every day, Iranians go to stores and find prices rising. Some post photos on social media of the shrinking contents of their shopping carts as they struggle to buy enough basic staples for their families. The mounting cost of living is an extra weight bearing down as Iranians prepare for a possible war with the U.S. and wrestle with the aftermath of protests that swept the country last month.

“Everybody is under pressure: merchants, civil servants, laborers," said Ebrahim Momeni, a 52-year-old retired civil servant. "The weaker class of people is being crushed.”

Iran's economy has struggled for years because of international sanctions and mismanagement.

It experienced some relief under a 2015 nuclear deal that lifted many sanctions, until U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018. Since coming back into office more than a year ago, Trump revived a “maximum pressure” campaign, expanding sanctions that target Iran’s financial sector and energy exports. On Wednesday, his administration imposed new sanctions on 30 people and companies accused of enabling Iran’s production of ballistic missiles and drones, and illicit oil sales.

The pressure has accelerated the devaluation of Iran's currency, the rial. In 2015, when the nuclear deal was signed, the rial traded at about 32,000 to the dollar. In late December, it was at 1.3 million to the dollar. On Wednesday, it had reached a new low at 1.65 million rials to the dollar — worsened by fears of a U.S. attack.