Economy & Environment

Two retired employees of Iran's national airline died after being forced to abandon medical treatment they could not afford, the semi-official ILNA news agency reported on Monday, citing the head of the airline's retirees' association.

Flour shortages have forced bakeries to close in several Iranian cities and pushed up bread prices, with residents and bakers reporting disrupted supplies, falling purchasing power and growing uncertainty over their businesses.

Iranians say they are paying more for slow, unreliable and heavily restricted internet after mobile operators raised data prices by up to 40%, with some reporting that their allowances run out unusually quickly.

Iran still has the knowhow, middlemen and shadow-fleet infrastructure it spent years developing to sell sanctioned oil to China. But it has now run out of oil outside Iran to put through that system.

China's imports of oil recorded as Malaysian have plunged alongside the collapse of Iranian exports under the US naval blockade, suggesting how heavily Iran relied on relabeling its crude for its biggest customer.

Border closures and transit disruptions involving Pakistan, Iraq and Turkey are raising fears that Iran’s remaining trade routes could be further restricted, deepening the impact of US maritime and air restrictions.

Repeated economic and political crises are eroding Iranians' belief that their lives can improve, with official figures showing declining social capital, widespread perceptions of injustice and deepening distrust of the government.

Iran's LPG exports have collapsed since the US naval blockade began in mid-July, leaving Tehran to find domestic uses for millions of tons of propane and butane that would normally be sold abroad.

Germany’s financial regulator BaFin said on Thursday that Bank Saderat Iran’s Hamburg branch had lost its banking license and must be wound up. The branch, which operated in Hamburg and Frankfurt, is no longer allowed to conduct banking business.

Land in parts of Iran’s southeastern Kerman province is sinking by as much as 40 centimeters a year, with ground fissures advancing toward villages, homes and orchards, according to data cited on Wednesday by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

Trade between Iran and Pakistan remained suspended at two major border crossings on Tuesday, leaving trucks and cargo stranded, with Pakistani authorities citing security and anti-smuggling measures and Iran pointing to technical difficulties.

Between 30 and 40 of Iran’s operational aircraft were destroyed during the war, while another 70 to 80 were hit, Iran Air chief executive Taher Abdolhai said on Monday.

People in Iran have described deteriorating hospital services, rising treatment costs, shortages of medical staff and equipment, and long waits for care, as healthcare workers struggle with low wages and growing workloads, according to accounts shared with Iran International.

Retirees staged protests in several Iranian cities on Sunday over soaring living costs, inadequate pensions and healthcare problems, with some demonstrators also chanting against government corruption, repression and executions.

Investment in trade routes linking Asia and Europe through Central Asia and the Caucasus is putting pressure on Iran’s ambitions to become a major transit hub, with neighboring countries developing transport and digital networks that bypass Iranian territory.

A growing number of former Iranian officials and political figures are calling for an agreement with the United States, while hardliners and military commanders continue to push for confrontation, exposing a deeper struggle over the direction of Tehran’s foreign policy.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says part of the government’s anti-terror financing regulations violates Iranian law, adding that decisions on who is designated as terrorist must remain with the Supreme National Security Council.

Iran’s central bank governor has dismissed claims of economic collapse, while domestic media reports describe wages failing to cover basic living costs and families struggling to afford medicines, housing and car repairs.