The Iranian rial has plunged to a fresh historic low, crossing 2 million rials to one US dollar on the free market, after Washington rolled out its most severe sanctions package yet against Tehran, according to Al Jazeera.
The currency's slide is the latest blow to an economy already worn down by decades of sanctions tied to Iran's nuclear program, compounded by the US-Israel war that began on February 28, 2026. Together, these pressures have battered a nation of roughly 92 million people, according to the report.
To illustrate the toll on ordinary households, Al Jazeera compared prices for staple goods in Tehran before the war with current costs. The findings are stark: 2 million rials once bought about 4kg of tomatoes, half a kilo of chicken, and nearly a liter of cooking oil. Today, that same sum covers only about half those quantities. Tomato prices have risen 71 percent, chicken 74 percent, and cooking oil a striking 177 percent, the outlet reported.
Medicine has been hit even harder. Insulin, essential for diabetics, has surged 642 percent in price, while paracetamol costs 93 percent more and baby formula—despite government subsidies—has climbed 95 percent.
The human impact behind these numbers is significant. Afsaneh, a 35-year-old Tehran mother identified by Al Jazeera under a changed name to protect her identity, said her family's weekly grocery bill has risen 20 to 30 percent. "Before the war, we could think about what we wanted to do three or six months down the road, but now our only concern is making it to the end of the month with the income we have," she told the outlet. Daycare costs for her one-year-old now run about 500,000 tomans daily—roughly $2.5—straining the family's budget, while non-subsidized medical checkups add further pressure.
Retail has also suffered. Zamir, a Tehran menswear retailer, reported sales down 40 percent from last year and warned that many businesses in his sector may collapse before winter's end, according to the report. He described rising costs across wages and raw materials, with retailers now selling summer stock below cost to stay afloat.
Wages have failed to keep pace with these increases. Iran's government-approved minimum wage for the current calendar year, ending March 2027, stands at 166 million rials—about $82—rising to roughly $108 with added benefits and assistance, Al Jazeera reported.
In Hormozgan province, fisher Salama, 28, told the outlet that her weekly grocery spending has jumped tenfold, from around 500,000 tomans to 5 million tomans, forcing her family to cut back sharply on meat and poultry. Basic medications, she said, now cost around 300,000 tomans, while a doctor's visit runs no less than 1 million tomans.
Compounding the currency crisis, a US naval blockade of Iranian ports has disrupted both imports and exports, further straining production and supply chains, according to the report.
As Al Jazeera notes, the war itself did not originate Iran's economic troubles, but it has sharply intensified them. For millions of Iranians, the report concludes, the pressing question is no longer simply how much prices have risen, but how much of life's basic necessities a month's wages can still afford.