Consumer prices in Iran were 88.7% higher than a year earlier in the month from September 23 through October 22, as the U.S. tightened restrictions on Tehran’s oil trade and access to dollars.
The Statistical Center of Iran put the previous month’s year-over-year rate at 89.8%. Prices rose 4.4% month over month.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress, assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing, receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker, assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, during a multi-day Bomber Task Force mission over Southwest Asia, Dec. 10, 2020. The B-52 is a long range bomber with a range of approximately 8,800 miles, enabling rapid support of Bomber Task Force missions or deployments and reinforcing global security and stability.(U.S Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Joey Swafford)
A B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron takes off from RAF Fairford, England, for a training mission with the Royal Moroccan Air Force during Bomber Task Force 25-1, Nov. 22, 2024. The U.S. and Morocco’s strategic partnership is based on mutual interests in regional peace, security and prosperity, and we remain dedicated to working together on shared concerns. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mary Bowers)
The Treasury Department noted September’s inflation figure in its October 30 assessment of Operation Economic Outcast, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News Radio on November 2 that “inflation is over 100% there now.” He gave no source or measurement period for the figure.
Rural Prices More Than Double
Prices rose 107% from a year earlier in rural areas, 85.5% in urban areas, and transportation prices also rose 128% nationwide.
Average prices over the most recent 12 months were 76.8% higher than in the preceding 12 months.
That measure was 73.6% in September.
“We have no money, no future and no hope,” Mohammadali, a shopkeeper and father of two in Mashhad, told Reuters.
In Rasht, Hamideh, a mother of two, said her family had moved in with her parents after her husband lost his factory job.
“We spent all our savings,” she said. In mid-October, Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati called U.S. claims that Iran’s economy was collapsing “an illusion.”
Crude Exports Stall
The Treasury assessment said Iran had loaded no oil onto tankers since August 25 and had reportedly sold its remaining oil in its floating overseas reserves. “They have no energy on the water,” Bessent said in the Fox News Radio interview.
Iran’s crude exports fell to zero in September, the first month without a shipment since Kpler began tracking the country in 2013.
In October, shipping analyst Jemima Shelley told Reuters that “a handful of tankers” carrying Iranian liquefied petroleum gas had made it through the blockade.
Separate satellite analysis traced a tanker carrying Iranian jet fuel to Myanmar in September.
A Treasury spokesperson said shipping data suggesting that ships had evaded the blockade “should be taken with a grain of salt,” citing vessels’ ability to disguise their locations or identities.
Treasury calculations using Kpler data put the 30-day average for Iranian or suspected Iranian oil unloaded at known destinations at about 400,000 barrels per day by October 19, down from more than 1 million at the start of the campaign.
Treasury Restricts Dollar Access
The rial also hit 2,687,000 per U.S. dollar on the unofficial market in October. Iranian state television said state banks began selling up to $2 billion in early October to prop up the currency.
“The enemy is using this to affect the exchange rate of our currency,” central bank adviser Mehdi Darabi told state TV, referring to U.S. predictions that Iran’s economy would collapse.
Washington has targeted financial institutions that help Iran gain access to foreign currency, including Iraq’s International Development Bank for Investment and Finance, which the Treasury accused of transferring dollars to Iran.
The October assessment also described efforts to disrupt cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets.
On October 21, Treasury sanctioned a law firm it said had registered companies linked to Iran’s shadow fleet.
Bessent warned that “if you are supporting the Iranian regime, we will find you and sanction you.”
Several countries have banned Iranian airlines, while the Treasury said truck delays of up to 20 days have been reported at the Turkish border following an increase in overland trade.
“The circle of containment is tightening day by day,” one Iranian Chamber of Commerce official told Donya-e-Eqtesad.
U.S.-Iran Talks Continue Amid High Gas Prices
After Monday’s strikes by the U.S. on Iran’s Qeshm Island, mediators from Qatar are still trying to reach an agreement.
Both sides are considering proposals from the mediators, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said. “There are intensive joint regional efforts underway to avoid escalation,” he said. But Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said that “Iran will not submit.”
Regular gasoline averaged $4.15 a gallon across the U.S. on Election Day, down from $4.27 last week and up from $3.04 a year earlier.
In its October 29 report, AAA said crude oil prices above $100 per barrel are limiting further declines at the pump.
About the Author: Georgia Gilholy
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
