TEHRAN, Aug 29 (Alliance News): Iran is facing growing economic pressure as its trade has fallen by nearly 35% amid the continuing conflict with the United States, while Tehran’s leaders confront rising inflation and mounting pressure from US sanctions.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has called on the government to address economic and livelihood challenges as the country struggles with the impact of the war and restrictions on trade.
“There is the need to seriously address the chain of economic and livelihood challenges, such as inflation, unemployment, management of prices and the market for goods and services,” Khamenei said in a written statement.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told state media that the country’s exports and imports had declined by nearly 35% because of US sanctions and a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Pezeshkian, however, said Iran had managed to sell around 90 million barrels of oil during a short-lived memorandum of understanding with the United States in June, when Washington allowed Iranian oil exports.
The economic pressure comes as the conflict reaches its six-month mark and diplomatic efforts to end the fighting remain stalled.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has intensified its campaign to restrict Iran’s access to international markets, warning countries that continue doing business with Tehran that they could face secondary sanctions.
Washington has so far avoided imposing penalties on major Iranian trading partners such as China and India, amid concerns that broader sanctions could have consequences for the US and global economies.
The US Treasury Department has, however, imposed sanctions on Egypt’s Banque Misr over business dealings with Tehran and proposed restrictions that would prevent the bank’s branches in the United Arab Emirates from conducting dollar transactions.
Egypt’s central bank said it and the foreign ministry were communicating with US officials over the measure, adding that the restrictions applied to Banque Misr UAE’s US dollar transactions with correspondent banks.
The US Treasury also announced sanctions against an entity based in Hong Kong and an individual linked to Iran’s Bank Melli.
The sanctions have added to the economic impact of the war, with Iran’s annual inflation reaching 66% last month.
Despite the economic pressure, Iranian officials have continued to issue warnings over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy route that Tehran has threatened to restrict amid the conflict.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani visited Tehran on Thursday and held talks with Iranian leaders, urging a return to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi described the talks with the Qatari premier as “creative.”
Qatar and Pakistan helped broker the June memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, which resulted in a brief ceasefire before disagreements over the Strait of Hormuz contributed to its collapse.
US military commanders have said American forces cleared sea mines from the strait that had allegedly been laid months earlier by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Trump has repeatedly said the waterway remains open, while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy has rejected the claim and said ships cannot pass without Iranian permission.
Preliminary shipping data released on Friday showed that only seven commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, compared with 17 a day earlier and a 10-day average of 15.
The reduced shipping activity highlights the continuing disruption around the strategic waterway and the wider economic risks facing Iran and global energy markets as the conflict continues.
