Dubai, United Arab Emirates (AP) – United Nations Reimposed sanctions against Iran Early on Sunday over the nuclear program, the Islamic Republic will be squeezed even further as those people feel more and more prices from the food they need to survive and worry about their future.
Sanctions came into effect on Sunday at 0000 GMT (8pm Eastern) after last-minute diplomacy failed at the United Nations.
Sanctions will again freeze Iran’s assets overseas, with the halt weapons dealing with Tehran, punishing the development of Iran’s ballistic missile programmes and more. That comes through a mechanism known as the “snapback” that is included in Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with the world power, and Iran’s economy is already upset.
Iran’s rial currency is in record lowincreasing pressure on food prices and making daily life more challenging. This includes meat, rice and other staple foods from Iranian dinner tables.
Meanwhile, people are worried about a battle between Iran and Israel and potentially with the US as missile sites hit during the 12-day war in June It looks like it’s been rebuilt now.
Activists fear Rising oppression It is reportedly that more people have been executed within the Islamic Republic this year than they have in the past 30 years.
Even during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s and the deprivation of sanctions in the decades that followed, China, the father of a 12-year-old boy who spoke on the condition that his name would be used for fear of influence, said the country had never faced such a challenging time.
“As far as I can remember, we’ve been struggling with financial difficulties, and each year it’s worse than the last,” Sheena told The Associated Press. “For my generation, it’s always too late or too early. Our dreams are slipping.”
Iran’s sanctions set to “snapback”
Snapback was designed to be rejected by the UN Security Council. That is, China and Russia could not stop on their own as there have been other proposed actions against Tehran in the past. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called them Iran’s “trap” on Saturday.
France, Germany and the UK caused snapback 30 days ago, further restricted surveillance on nuclear programmes and was hit by a deadlock over negotiations with the US
Iran also retreated from surveillance by the International Atomic Energy Agency in June after Israel’s war with the country. Meanwhile, the country still maintains a stockpile of uranium enriched with 60% purity. This is a short technical step of 90% of weapon grade. This is enough to make some atomic bombs if Tehran chooses to hurry towards weaponization.
Iran has long argued that the nuclear program is peace, but the West and Oiaea say Tehran had an organized weapons program until 2003.
Tehran further argues that three European countries should not be allowed to implement snapbacks, some referring to the US Unilateral withdrawal from the 2018 agreement; During President Donald Trump’s first term in office.
“The Trump administration appears to think it’s strong after the strike and can wait for Iran to return to the table,” said Kelsey Davenport, a nuclear expert at the Washington-based Arms Management Association. “It’s a very dangerous assumption given the knowledge that Iran has and the material remaining in Iran.”
Iran’s risks remain, she added. “In the short term, kicking the IAEA increases the risk of miscalculation. The US or Israel may use the lack of testing as an excuse for further strikes.”
Iran recalled its ambassadors to France, Germany and the UK on Saturday for consultations before the sanctions were reimposed, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised three European countries for “decisive global leadership acts” that imposed sanctions on Iran.
“President Trump has made it clear that diplomacy remains an option. The deal continues to be the best outcome for Iranian people and the world,” Rubio said in a statement. “For that to happen, Iran must accept in-person talks.”
Iran is growing hungry and anxiety
The aftermath of the June war raised food prices in Iran, putting already expensive meat out of reach for poor families.
The Iranian government brought overall annual inflation to 34.5% in June, and its statistical centre reported that the costs of essential foods rose by more than 50% over the same period. But even so, it doesn’t reflect what people see in the store. Pinto Beans tripled in price in a year, but the butter almost doubled. The classic rice rose on average over 80%, reaching 100% with premium varieties. Overall chicken has increased by 26%, while beer and lamb have increased by 9%.
“Every day, new prices for cheese, milk and butter are high,” said Sima Taghavi at Tehran’s grocery store, the mother of two. “My child is too young to have been taken away, so I can’t omit it from the grocery list like fruit or meat.”
Local Iranian media reports that since June, pressure on food and fears about the resumption of war have seen more patients head towards psychologists.
“Psychological pressure from the 12-day war on the one hand, and the inflation and price hikes of runaways on the other hand, left society exhausted and unmotivated,” Dr. Shima Feldousi, a clinical psychologist and professor at Shahid Bediti University, told the Hamshari newspaper in July.
“If the economic situation continues like this, it will have serious social and moral consequences,” she warned, and the newspaper said, “people may do things they never think about doing in normal circumstances to survive.”
Executions will skyrocket in 2025
In recent years, Iran has been calling for a change in the country’s theocratic politics, supported by rage towards the economy and demands for women’s rights. The latest one revolves around the death of Mahasa Amini, a young woman who died in 2022 after being detained by police who allegedly did not wear a hijab or scarf.
In response to these protests and the war in June, Iran has been killing prisoners at an invisible pace since 1988, when it executed thousands at the end of the Iran and Iraq wars. The Oslo-based group Iranian Human Rights and Washington-based Abdramhan Bolmando Iranian Human Rights Centre exceeded 1,000 people executed in 2025.
“Iran’s political and civic space has not been reduced, and outside Iran, civil society activists and opposition face cross-border oppression,” the Centre warned. “The Iranians who want more than a brutal theocracy closed by millions of people, have tried every option they can reach, their leaders haven’t.”
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Vahdat reported from Tehran, Iran. Tehran’s Associated Press Writer Nasser Karimi contributed to this report. ___
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