Snapback will accelerate capital flight, Iran’s business chamber says
Fresh UN sanctions triggered by the snapback mechanism will fuel inflationary pressure and deepen economic strain, Alireza Kiani, head of the money and capital market committee of Tehran’s Chamber of Commerce, said Monday.
“If snapback is activated, the government must seriously reconsider its currency policies. With continued suppression of the exchange rate, more traders and producers will exit the market and capital flight will increase,” Kiani added.
The latest crisis is marked by worsening disruption in the circulation of money and capital, Kiani said.
“The private sector lacks access to resources and shows little incentive for reinvestment.”
Iran’s armed forces warned on Monday they are prepared to respond to any threat with overwhelming force, saying recent clashes showed the country could turn aggression into an opportunity to display regional and international power.
Major General Mousavi, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, said in a message marking Defense Week that Tehran’s military and defensive capabilities blunted enemy plans during the recent 12-day conflict and that Iran would not remain passive in the face of new threats.
Sacred Defense Week, which begins on September 22, is Iran’s annual commemoration of the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq war, marked by military parades and other war-themed events.
Major General Mousavi, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran
State news outlets quoted Mousavi as saying that “the armed forces,relying on strategic surprises, were ready to deliver a timely, decisive and beyond imagination response to any acts of aggression.”
Mousavi urged quicker development of advanced defense technologies and stronger deterrence, and called for preparations to counter so-called hybrid threats, especially cognitive and information warfare, which he said should be a priority for planners.
The comments came after a meeting between senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regular army, where unity and coordinated action were stressed.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Pakpour (left) and Army Commander Amir Hatami during a meeting on September 22, 2025
Army Commander Amir Hatami, quoted by state media, said any smallest aggression would be met by a unified, rapid and forceful response from both services and said that national interests would not be negotiated away.
“This unity is the iron shield that protects our country against plots and conspiracies. We proved again in the 12-day war that we will not bargain over our national interests.”
“From the very beginning of the Islamic revolution in 1979, the enemies have demanded that the Iranian nation give up its rightful goals, but our people, with sacrifices and martyrs, have resisted and will continue to resist,” he said.
IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour underscored the need for “jihad-style” mobilization of public capacities across education, media and civil institutions to shape public narratives and resilience against external influence, remarks that reflect Tehran’s focus on combining military and non-military tools in its defense posture.
“The events of this imposed war were exactly reminiscent of September 1980 and the national unity forged at the start of the Sacred Defense,” he said
He added that “in the early hours, several of our senior commanders were martyred, but with the Supreme Leader’s wise leadership, successors were appointed and the battle was managed until the enemy was forced to request a ceasefire.”
Iran’s gasoline imports could face disruption if the US uses UN sanctions as grounds for tougher enforcement, Hamid Hosseini, spokesman for the Oil Products Exporters Union, said on Monday.
“Oil products such as premium gasoline are not on the UN sanctions list, which mostly concerns missiles and arms. However, the US side may use this as a pretext for tighter restrictions,” Hosseini said.
The oil ministry has approved five private firms to import premium gasoline, with the first shipment expected this week from India via the United Arab Emirates, he added.
If sanctions intensify, “money transfers will become more difficult and it will not be easy,” Hosseini said.
Russia and China have backed Iran’s position against restoring UN Security Council sanctions, but experts believe their political support will not significantly affect global compliance, a reformist daily reported Monday.
“Iran’s proposals did not include any practical steps to address concerns before the deadline,” wrote Ham-Mihan.
While Moscow and Beijing back Tehran’s stance on the “illegitimacy” of Europe’s request to reinstate sanctions, such support carries little weight in shaping other countries’ decisions to enforce the resolutions, the daily added.
The presidents of Russia and Iran shake hands at a meeting on the sidelines of the 2024 BRICS summit
The country’s adherence to engagement with rivals is conditional, a media outlet affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Monday.
“The council as the rational authority of the system, emphasizes Iran’s firm but conditional adherence to engagement with rivals and instead of tension, focuses on regional and domestic stability and security,” wrote Nour News.
“The Islamic Republic is ready to defend its national interests, but still has chosen peace, stability and engagement as its main path,” added the outlet.
Negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program are meaningless while foreign powers remain focused solely on extracting concessions, wrote Iran’s hardline daily Kayhan on Monday.
“Until one side only seeks to take concessions and impose surrender on the other, talk of diplomacy is meaningless and a waste of time,” the paper overseen by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said.
“Adversaries confronting Iran are unchanged from the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq war,” it argued, insisting that only “resistance and non-surrender remain viable.”
The window of diplomacy is valid only so long as the other side accepts such a window and its rules, which is giving and taking concessions, the paper said.
