US sanctions Shamkhani 'shipping empire' for moving Iranian oil

In an open submission hotline to Iran International, people inside the country shared their experiences of hardship.

“I wish I could talk in depth about medicine prices, but since there’s no medicine to find, any such talk is useless,” one respondent said.

Another highlighted the difficulties women face in the market for hygiene products and supplements.

“Menstrual pads are hard to find, and prices are very high. A pack of magnesium pills for strengthening hair, nails and skin, even an Iranian brand, costs 570,000 tomans ($13),” she said.

'More hellish by the day'

Water and electricity shortages and outages have hit Iran in recent weeks, hitting daily life and harming health services.

“Iran’s medicine and treatment situation is a disaster as big as water shortages and other crises. Overall, Iran is becoming more hellish daily in every way,” another message said.

Some respondents said they were bypassing Iran’s market to get medicine from abroad.

“I bought thyroid pills for myself from Turkey for a year. The money I paid at the free exchange rate equals buying pills in Iran for 4 months. Plus, the ones from Turkey are genuine German, while those in Iran are terrible, have no effect, and expire in two to three months," one contributor said.

“It’s been days without medicine," another said. "I have no money. Borrowed today, got half—infinitely expensive. I don’t know what to do.”

Hard to afford

Some responses indicate that with rising prices, insurance companies are dropping coverage.

“Last year, a respiratory spray cost 500,000 tomans ($ 6), and insurance covered 85%. Now it’s 3 million tomans ($ 71 ), and insurance doesn’t cover it anymore," one said through a message.

"The asthma spray I used to get with insurance for 100,000 tomans a few months ago. Yesterday, one oral spray 400,000 ($ 9),"another respondent added.

The increasing prominence of the black market and the inflow of expired medicines with no quality control was also an oft-cited concern.

“Drug prices have broken the backs of people, especially the middle, lower-middle, and poor classes," a respondent said. "Meds are either unaffordable or expensive, unavailable, or, if found, are either expired or fake, especially in the black market where addicts, thieves, and dealers sell.”

Iranians, including children, dependent on medicines now face steep price hikes.

“I used to buy my kid’s medicine for 450,000 tomans ($ 10); now it’s 870,000 tomans ($ 20),” one said.

"I have diabetes. In the last five months, insulin was distributed only once," a respondent said. "It can't be obtained from the market at all, even at ten times the cost."

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that a pledge to avoid further strikes was a necessary condition for restarting cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has been limited in its access to Iranian sites.

Dialogue with China and Iran

Zakharova pointed to recent trilateral talks between Iran, Russia, and China as a sign that a nuclear agreement remains possible through diplomacy. She said ongoing dialogue could create space for progress, if conducted in good faith.

She referred to joint meetings in New York and Tehran where the three sides discussed ways to protect the 2015 nuclear deal and coordinate against efforts to revive UN sanctions. Russia said it supports a diplomatic framework that includes security assurances and avoids military pressure.

Beijing and Moscow have expressed support for Iran’s call for a new model of cooperation with the IAEA, after Iran’s parliament voted in late June to suspend collaboration with the agency following a ceasefire with Israel and demanded security guarantees before restoring access.

Pressure builds over snapback threat

The statements come as Iran, China and Russia have held joint meetings in New York and Tehran to coordinate their stance on the risk of snapback UN sanctions, penalties lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal that could return if no new agreement is reached.

Iranian officials have warned they may leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if European powers, France, Germany and the UK, trigger the mechanism, which they have threatened to do by the end of August.

In the capital, the price of Barbari—a widely consumed semi-flat bread—rose 31 percent to 46,000 rials (about $0.05), while the popular flat bread Taftoon jumped 52 percent to 20,000 rials ($0.02), and Lavash climbed 39 percent to 15,500 rials ($0.017).

Sangak, another staple, was set at 76,000 rials ($0.085), with a 20,000 rial ($0.022) surcharge for sesame toppings.

“The price of Barbari should have increased by at least 52 percent,” said Amir Karamlou, spokesman for Tehran’s traditional bakers’ union, adding that the current hike in the capital falls short of what was approved for other provincial capitals.

Reports from IRGC-linked Fars News highlighted a growing gap between official rates and prices charged by bakeries, which, while struggling to make ends meet, are keeping prices higher than those stipulated by the government.

The hike follows protests in recent months by bakers over cuts to subsidized flour. Some told Iran International they had already been forced to sell Sangak at 100,000 to 200,000 rials ($0.11- $0.22), citing flour shortages and black-market pricing.

Meanwhile, some provinces have yet to formally implement the government's increases, Mehr News reported, citing disputes over pricing authority and scope.

However, with the minimum monthly wage now worth just $120, well below the estimated $400 needed for basic living, the pressure on consumers continues to mount.

At least one third of the country now lives below the poverty line as the country's floundering economy continues to make life in the country ever more difficult.

Iran’s year-on-year inflation rate rose to 41.2% in July, marking the highest level in two years, according to the country’s Statistical Center. The 41.2% figure means households paid over 40% more for the same basket of goods and services compared to July last year.

The figure reflects an increase from 39.4% in June and comes amid a broader surge in prices for essential goods and food items.

The latest consumer price index report, released this week, showed that annual, monthly, and point-to-point inflation all climbed in the fourth month of the Iranian calendar year,which ended on July 22.

Residents in various districts describe inconsistent access, with high-rise buildings experiencing more severe cuts.

Authorities have advised installing pumps and storage tanks, but many complain water pressure is too low to make them effective. Power cuts also complicate the situation.

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Field observations by Shargh newspaper show that Karaj Dam, normally holding up to 180 million cubic meters, now stores only around 60 million — one-third of its capacity. Of that, only a fraction is usable, as sediment and “dead water” account for an estimated 15% of the volume. Dam managers confirm a 45-meter drop in reservoir height from full capacity.

Mohammad Ali Moallem, the director of Karaj Dam, told Shargh that the reservoir has dropped to its lowest level in 64 years.

Authorities attribute the crisis to reduced rainfall, with Tehran province receiving just 185 mm this year — placing it among the top five water-stressed regions in the country.

Officials in Tehran blame drought and public overuse for Iran’s worst water shortage in living memory.

National figures show just 9.5% of Iran’s water goes to households and commerce, while agriculture consumes 86.5%, often with inefficient practices and low economic returns. Internal migration and aging infrastructure have further strained Tehran’s water system, making it the second most water-poor province after Sistan-Baluchistan.

In the capital Tehran, officials have attempted to curb consumption through emergency measures, including repeated water and electricity outages and temporary office closures on certain days.

An Iranian government plan to close workplaces and schools one day a week in response to worsening electricity and water shortages has sparked widespread criticism, with many citizens warning it will only deepen daily hardships.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has built over 60 dams in recent decades. More than half are now empty, with hydropower generation operating at just one-third of its nominal capacity.

The United States on Tuesday criticized Iran’s leadership over the ongoing nationwide crisis.

Thornberry, who leads the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee, said a broad deal resembling a 2015 agreement from which US President Donald Trump withdrew in his first term would likely be needed to resolve the nuclear impasse.

“Donald Trump egged on by Netanyahu decided to turn his back on it and he thought there were other ways that he could get what he wanted," she said.

"Clearly he hasn't, and there's been bombing in between and bombing with Israel and America. We need to get back into an agreement and I suspect we need to get back into something that's going to look very much like the JCPOA."

Her remarks are a rare critique of US policy toward Iran by a prominent member of the ruling party of a key US ally. US attacks on three Iranian nuclear sites capped off a 12-day war between Israel and Iran last month.

Trump said the attacks had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program and has been ambivalent about the need for further talks.

European powers including Britain have mooted triggering renewed United Nations sanctions on Tehran if it does not return to negotiations on its nuclear program.

Iranian threats on UK soil

The UK Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) last month warned that Iran poses one of the gravest state-based threats to British national security, on par with adversaries like Russia and China.

Asked whether Iran might be more dangerous following the war, Thornberry stressed the need for talks to defuse tensions.

"I think any country, if they feel isolated is likely to be more dangerous. That's the reason, one of the many reasons, why we want to be able to talk to Iran and bring them in," she said.

"We cannot accept it, and we have to make sure that we protect people. I've had people come to talk to me who personally feel threatened by the Iranian regime," she added. "We need to be able to live peacefully with one another and we need to be a center of free thought and an open discussion."

British interior minister Yvette Cooper said in May that Iran posed an "unacceptable threat" to domestic security after authorities charged three Iranian nationals under a national security law following a major counter-terrorism investigation.

The sharp statement came after the arrests of Iranian nationals on UK soil in terrorism-related cases.

In two separate operations on May 3, eight men including seven Iranians were arrested by the British counter-terrorism police.

Three of the Iranian nationals were later charged with offences under the National Security Act, accused of acting on behalf of Iran’s intelligence service and carried out surveillance targeting Iran International journalists.