'We'll be ruined': Iranians feel strain as sanctions snap back

TEHRAN: Iranians said on Sunday (Sep 28) they were already feeling the economic strain as United Nations sanctions snapped back into force, with prices rising sharply and the rial sinking to record lows.

For Helia, a 33-year-old graphic designer in Tehran, the impact was visible almost overnight: the price of furniture for her new home surged within three days.

"Even before the dollar went up, prices were rising. From meat to taxis, life is already harder," she told AFP while working on an advertising project.

Iran's government condemned as "unjustifiable" the reinstatement of sanctions over its nuclear programme, imposed after the collapse of diplomacy with Western powers.

The measures, which bar dealings linked to the Islamic republic's nuclear and ballistic missile activities, took effect at midnight after Britain, France and Germany triggered the so-called "snapback" mechanism under the 2015 nuclear accord.

Tehran’s foreign ministry urged other countries not to enforce the sanctions and vowed to defend Iran’s "national rights and interests."

FRUSTRATION AND ANXIETY

Across the capital, frustration mixed with anxiety as residents wondered how much worse life could get.

"We'll be ruined. Ordinary people really might not be able to live the way they do now," said Nassim Company, a 56-year-old researcher in Tehran.

Mehrshad, a 19-year-old student, said the sanctions would leave Iran "economically and politically isolated."

President Masoud Pezeshkian said the United States had offered a brief reprieve in exchange for Iran handing over its entire enriched uranium stockpile, a proposal he dismissed as "unacceptable."

But Farid Moradi, a 70-year-old author, criticised Tehran for refusing to compromise.

"The government should have continued negotiations and at some point it should have given concessions and tried to gain some in return," he said. "The authorities follow their own course, one they believe is right... but what fault is it of the people?"

EVERYDAY PRICES SPIKE

The rial plummeted to about 1.12 million per US dollar on the black market on Sunday morning before recovering slightly to 1.1 million, according to currency-tracking websites.

One kilogram of meat now costs 10 million rials (almost US$10), Moradi said — a steep sum for those earning the minimum wage.

"How can a family survive?" he asked.

For Amir-Abbas, a 19-year-old student wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt, the price of his guitar had risen tenfold in recent years.

"It was 30 million rials when I bought it; now it's 300 million (less than US$300) because we can't import anymore," he said, adding that medicine was also becoming harder to afford.

Company, who recently returned to Iran after years abroad, warned that ordinary citizens would bear the brunt of the sanctions.

"Prices, the dollar, gold — everything will rise. People won't be able to live a normal life," she said. "Crime and child labour may increase. I'm even considering leaving again."

Despite the hardship, Helia said she still held onto optimism.

"We've lived through the dollar at 100,000 rials, now it's 1,100,000 rials, and we're still standing," she said. "We live on hope. And that hope is still there."