Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madani Zadeh said in a statement that the government has prepared a two-year plan to deal with the current situation. He said Iran has decades of experience in dealing with sanctions and is well aware of measures that can help minimise the impact of US sanctions.
He said that amid shifting global power dynamics, Iran could take a more proactive approach in some areas instead of focusing solely on defence.
According to Arab media, Iran has begun stockpiling essential goods, foreign currency and gold reserves. Despite its substantial resources, the country is also rationing energy supplies.
Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati told business representatives that Iran’s main source of revenue, oil exports, had almost completely stopped. However, he said there was no shortage of foreign currency for importing essential goods because the central bank held cash reserves in locations inaccessible to the United States.
Arab media reported that Hemmati acknowledged Iran was facing serious challenges, including uncontrolled inflation and a continued decline in people’s purchasing power. However, he said enduring difficult conditions did not amount to economic collapse.
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani also warned that people should not expect conditions to improve over the next year. She said approval from the Supreme National Security Council would be required before figures on poverty levels could be released.
The Iranian currency also fell to a new record low against the US dollar, with the dollar reaching 2.05 million rials in the open market on Tuesday, although the rial recovered slightly on Wednesday.
Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei urged young people to play an active role in the economy and produce essential goods for their households and local communities.
The Iranian government has prioritised self-reliance in national development plans for decades. In the agriculture sector, the government claims the country meets around 85 per cent of its food needs domestically.
Agriculture Minister Gholamreza Nouri said Iran aims to raise food self-sufficiency to 90 per cent in the short term and eventually produce all basic food commodities domestically.
Iran imports around $16 billion worth of agricultural products while exporting about $8 billion. However, some agricultural exports were halted in March following the outbreak of the war.
Iran remains dependent on imports for several essential food items, including wheat, corn, rice and edible oil, as well as animal feed. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia play an important role in supplying sugar and wheat flour to Iran, while Russia and Central Asian countries provide grain through the Caspian Sea.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization has warned that higher import costs, disruptions to supply networks and measures to protect domestic supplies are driving food inflation in Iran and reducing consumers’ purchasing power.
The agency said land routes were unable to replace the large volumes of goods normally transported by sea.
According to Iran’s official statistics agency, food prices had increased by more than 128 per cent in July compared with the same month a year earlier.
The Iranian government says the country produces around 97 per cent of its medicines domestically. However, imported medicines still account for a significant share of pharmaceutical spending.
Salman Esaghi, spokesperson for the parliamentary health committee, said Iran was facing shortages of around 1,000 medicines to varying degrees. Medicine prices have also risen significantly after the government began gradually phasing out preferential foreign exchange rates for some imports.
Iranian officials said repairs were progressing rapidly on infrastructure damaged by US and Israeli strikes, including oil, gas and electricity facilities. However, the war has further aggravated existing energy and infrastructure problems.
Power outages continue daily in Tehran and other cities, while authorities fear natural gas shortages could emerge as colder weather approaches.
Long queues have also been reported at petrol stations in Tehran, Mashhad, Karaj and other cities after government-allocated fuel supplies ran out.
The government spokesperson said existing fuel prices and quotas would remain unchanged until September 22. However, fuel allocations for private vehicles have already been reduced.
According to the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, two new refineries in southern Iran are expected to become operational by the end of the year, potentially adding around 12 million litres of fuel production per day and helping ease shortages.
Iranian economist Sadegh Hosseini warned that the government may have to introduce difficult economic reforms, including raising fuel prices, to prevent social unrest. He said prolonged fuel queues and severe economic hardship could trigger widespread disorder.
According to Arab media, higher fuel prices would further fuel inflation by increasing transportation costs. Iran may continue to withstand US sanctions despite decades of pressure, but the combination of prolonged conflict, sanctions and shortages of essential resources risks pushing the country into an economic cycle in which its resources and productive capacity gradually weaken.
