As Iran’s ailing economy braced itself on Saturday for the reimposition of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear programme, it is ordinary people who increasingly find themselves priced out of the food they need to survive and worried about their futures.
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Iran’s rial currency already sits at a record low, increasing pressure on food prices and making daily life that much more challenging. That includes meat, rice and other staples of the Iranian dinner table.
Meanwhile, people worry about a new round of fighting between Iran and Israel – as well as potentially the United States – as missile sites struck during the 12-day war in June now appear to be being rebuilt.
Activists fear a rising wave of repression within the Islamic Republic, which already has reportedly executed more people this year than over the past three decades.
Sina, the father of a 12-year-old boy who spoke on condition that only his first name be used for fear of repercussions, said the country has never faced such a challenging time, even during the deprivations of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and the decades of sanctions that came later.
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“For as long as I can remember, we’ve been struggling with economic hardship, and every year it’s worse than the last,” Sina said. “For my generation, it’s always either too late or too early — our dreams are slipping away.”