Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority published an updated list of 77 vessels it accused of violating Iranian protocols for the Strait of Hormuz.
The authority had warned that the listed vessels could face restrictions on future passage, including fines, detention or confiscation.
It also said vessels cooperating with those on the list would be added to it and warned maritime service providers against assisting them.
Bread prices in the Iranian capital have risen sharply without official authorization, putting even bread and cheese beyond the means of some workers, labor-focused ILNA news agency reported.
“Things are very bad with bread, and the unofficial increase in bread prices has become staggering. There was a time when a worker could at least count on bread and cheese, but today they can no longer afford even that,” Ali Torkashvand, executive secretary of the Workers’ House, told ILNA.
The pressure comes as Iran’s official minimum wage stands at about 166.3 million rials per month, equivalent to roughly $72 at the open-market exchange rate.
Messages sent separately to Iran International describe sharp increases across basic food and household purchases. One citizen said several kilograms of vegetables had cost 25 million rials, equivalent to about 15% of the monthly minimum wage.
“Damn the Islamic Republic for making people suffer this much. We really can’t afford to buy anything anymore,” the citizen said.
A packet of meat-flavored instant noodles cost 900,000 rials, another citizen said.
“I bought a few food and hygiene products and it came to 20 million rials,” another citizen told Iran International, a sum equivalent to about 12% of the monthly minimum wage.
Bread moves beyond reach
ILNA linked the rising cost of essentials to repeated currency depreciation and increases in energy prices, saying shocks to fuel and foreign-exchange costs feed through to food, medicine, housing and other necessities.
Wages and pension payments had failed to keep pace with rising prices, leaving workers struggling to meet basic household expenses, Torkashvand said.
The latest pressure follows the government’s decision to double Iran’s third-tier gasoline price to 100,000 rials per liter from September 8.
Higher gasoline prices could drive up the cost of other goods and services through increased transportation and production expenses, Torkashvand said.
Iran’s economy has come under mounting pressure from international sanctions and restrictions on trade and finance, the economic fallout from war and US efforts to block Iranian oil exports and other revenue streams, alongside declining investment and domestic economic mismanagement.
Workers were struggling with rising prices even before the latest gasoline increase, Ali Zamiri, a labor activist, told ILNA.
“Under the present circumstances, there is no longer any clear order or pattern to prices, while workers’ incomes have not changed in line with these rising costs,” Zamiri said.
Food prices outpace wages
Prices for some staples have risen far faster than overall inflation, with rice increasing by more than 200% and cooking oil by more than 300%, Majid Rahmati, a member of Tehran province’s Islamic Labor Councils board, told ILNA.
Rahmati called for increased food subsidies and higher wages and benefits during the second half of the Iranian year to offset some of the loss in purchasing power.
The strain has also forced some families to seek credit for basic food. ILNA reported on Sunday that people in poorer areas of Tehran were asking neighborhood stores to let them buy groceries, meat, prepared meals and even bread on credit.
Shopkeepers themselves were finding it increasingly difficult to continue extending credit as their own costs rose, according to ILNA.
No foreign investment has been made so far in the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21, Tahmoures Lahouti, Deputy Industry Minister and head of Iran’s Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization, told the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA).
“Given the sanctions and restrictions in place, foreign investment is not taking place,” Lahouti said.
Domestic investment in industrial development has also declined compared with last year, with exchange-rate volatility, inflation and weakening household purchasing power weighing on businesses, Lahouti added.
The Iranian year began about three weeks after Israel and the United States launched military operations against the Islamic Republic on February 28.
Lahouti did not provide figures for the decline in domestic investment or specify whether his assessment of foreign investment covered all sectors of the Iranian economy.
The rial has lost roughly 60% of its value against the US dollar since the beginning of the Iranian year, increasing the cost of imported equipment and other inputs for businesses. High inflation and uncertainty over future prices have further complicated long-term investment decisions.
Industrial employment declines
The deterioration in investment has coincided with significant job losses in industry.
About 630,000 industrial jobs were lost in the first quarter of the current Iranian year compared with the same period a year earlier, according to figures from Iran’s Statistical Center.
Separate labor-market data have also shown a sharp decline in the number of workers making social-security contributions.
The contraction adds to longer-running problems facing Iranian manufacturers, including sanctions, restrictions on international banking, inflation, currency depreciation and recurring energy shortages.
Foreign investment falls as capital outflows surge
Data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)shows that Iran was already struggling to attract foreign direct investment well before the war.
In 2016 and 2017, following the implementation of the nuclear deal and the temporary easing of international restrictions, Iran attracted an average of about $4.2 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) annually. After the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions in 2018, the trend reversed, with annual FDI subsequently falling to around $1.5 billion.
At the same time, Central Bank data point to a sharp increase in capital outflows. Iran’s capital-account deficit widened from $6.77 billion in 2017 to $19.62 billion in 2025, nearly tripling over the period.
Overall, Iran attracted about $12.7 billion in foreign direct investment between 2018 and the end of 2025, while cumulative capital-account deficits approached $120 billion over the same period.
The gap illustrates that Iran’s problem extends beyond its difficulty attracting foreign capital. The country is also recording substantial capital outflows.
Iran falls further behind regional rivals
UNCTAD data for 2025 show the scale of the investment gap between Iran and some of its regional competitors.
Saudi Arabia attracted $32.6 billion in foreign direct investment last year, while the United Arab Emirates received about $48.2 billion.
The figures underscore Iran’s difficulty competing for foreign capital after years of sanctions and restrictions on international banking and trade.
Lahouti’s comments show that those constraints have now choked off an already limited flow of foreign investment. At the same time, depreciation of the rial, inflation, economic uncertainty and persistent capital outflows have made it more difficult for domestic investors to fill the gap.
Foreign investment falling to zero this year is therefore part of a longer trend. Iran was struggling to attract foreign capital well before the latest war, while substantial capital outflows added to the pressure on investment at home.
