The Trump administration’s screw-turning on Iran’s economy is having a devastating effect. How long will the people of Iran, 85% of whom say in polls that they want the regime to fall, endure this state of affairs before they come out in protest again, as they did last January? More on the economic collapse in Iran can be found here: “Iran’s Rial in Free Fall: How US Sanctions Are Reshaping Daily Life, Public Opinion for the Iranian People,” by Maddie Ali, Algemeiner, September 3, 2026:
As the Trump administration continues to tighten the economic noose around Iran with US sanctions and a naval blockade, ordinary Iranians are bearing the most immediate cost — but largely blaming their own government for the country’s current financial crisis.
Many Iranian officials publicly insist that Washington’s latest pressure campaign to strangle the economy is ineffective and will fail. Yet in bazaars, pharmacies, and household budgets, the economic damage is no longer concealable.
The officials putting a brave face on the situation, denying that the American pressure on the economy is having a major effect, surely know that they cannot keep up this denial. Ordinary people can’t buy food, can’t pay for prescriptions, can’t pay for school and university tuition. Nor can the young find employment. Only 37% of the adult population actually have jobs.
The Iranian public is sinking into deep poverty. Ordinary Iranians — not the members of the ruling class and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — can’t pay for food, can’t pay for medicines, can’t pay their utilities bills, can’t find work, and they know that this is all the fault of their fanatical rulers, who insist on continuing to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed, which means that American sanctions will not be removed, nor the American blockade of Iranian ports be lifted. They know that their government has spent more than one hundred billion dollars on its nuclear program, with much of that program going up in smoke after the U.S. and Israeli bombing. They know, too, that the Iranian government has transferred billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to Hamas, to Hezbollah, to the Houthis, in addition to billions in cash, and that support continues as the regime chooses to prioritize support for its proxies over a decent life for its people. The Iranian public sees all this as a tremendous misallocation of resources.
There will soon come a point when millions of Iranians, at the end of their tether, will again take to the streets to demand an end to this wretched regime, and this time one hopes that, as happened with the shah’s military in 1978, there will be a revolt in the ranks of the Basiji and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and those sent out to crush the protesters will instead mutiny, and either put down their weapons, or aim them at those, their numbers fast diminishing, who still support the regime.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Forget ordinary Iranians. The sanctions have finally reached those Iranians supported and patronized by the ☫ regime – namely members of the IRGC, Basij, Artesh
Yesterday, I saw one video of a sandwich shop that decided that due to the volatility of the currency, his shop could no longer have fixed prices, and therefore had a digital display showing the updated real time prices. Anyone there would think that he was at the NYSE rather than at a sandwich cafe. Of course, it was very creative of him to come up w/ that solution so that he never risks losing even a Rial (which is now less than even the currencies of Uzbekistan or Zimbabwe). The flip side is that anyone who visits his cafe would risk the price shooting up every minute he delayed making his decision 😈
Elsewhere, all over Iran, there are endless gas lines for fuel, w/ cars looking like they’re parked on the side, but otherwise waiting for fuel. The fuel prices themselves have skyrocketed since Iran hardly has any refineries (neither for that matter do most of its oil producing neighbors, who just export crude), and was importing refined gasoline from Russia, but then Ukraine has destroyed so many Russian refineries that Moscow itself is importing it from India, and obviously can’t spare any for the islamic republic. Not just that, even when one does get fuel, it’s heavily contaminated w/ methanol and paint thinner, resulting in major engine damage to Iranian cars, which are sub-par in their own right (much like East German Trabis and Yugoslavian Yugos back in the day)
This fuel shortages affects not just transportation but also everything else, since most industries, like manufacturing, food production, health care operations have all come to a standstill due to the rapidly disappearing energy. Even if people buy enough food, they can’t store it if it needs to be refridgerated, since fridges too need power. Hospitals have had to shut down equipment for the same reasons
On top of that, even those neighbors who used to do minimum trade w/ them are shutting down. Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, which until now had been allowing rail traffic to run b/w China to Iran and Russia to Iran have now announced that they’re abiding by the new US sanctions, and stopping. One of the reasons for the oil shortages is that IRGC personnel had been siphoning off oil from the few refineries they have, and trying to sell it at international market prices to Pakistan. But yesterday, even Pakis were asking for $10,000 for every truckload of oil that wanted to cross the Balochistan border
Which explains why the IRGC has been lashing out against both Arab countries as well as the US. I just hope that they manage to attack Israel as well, b’cos at that point, Trump will be in no position to stop Israel, which can resume the process of eliminating every islamic republican leader remaining – from Pezeshkian to the lowest level Basij commander
Huh!?! says
This is a nice post. +100%. It is nice that the Islamic elite in Iran are now feeling the pinch. I know Trump is working hard to minimize death in this conflict. It is just that Islam is not like other enemies. Islam gets excited by all this carnage. As readers here know, Islam sees this as blessing their way into Allah’s eternal whorehouse. I know the majority of Iranians want the regime to collapse. They don’t seem to have the grit to start pushing forward. It has been suggested that the U.S. send arms to the civilian Iranians. I am becoming more and more hardline when it comes to Islam. Perhaps the U.S. and Israel should take over the Strait and Kharg Island. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. Vote! Vote! Vote!
40 rounds says
They’re hoping and praying to “Allah” that Trump will change course like he has dozens of times and lift the foot off the accelerator. Hopefully, for God’s sake, he stands firm this time
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Huh
I watch a show by 2 Iranian expats – Armin Navabi (who I once discovered here when he interviewed Mr Spencer) and Ali Samani, who he took on recently as his co-host. Armin does a terrific job psychoanalyzing the regime supporters in the islamic republic, while Samani does an equally great job researching the backstories behind the events taking place. For those interested in what’s actually going on in Iran, I highly recommend their channel
One section they have is called “Aligrams”, where Ali infiltrates a Telegram channel of islamic regime supporters, screenshots or reproduces their quotes (a lot of them get deleted by their mods) and they both translate them when the Farsi to English translation is off. In those posts of late, not too many attacking either US or Israel, or even the Shah supporters who oppose the regime. Instead, they either attack the Pezeshkian/Ghalibaf part of the regime that was involved in the MOU negotiations w/ Vance, calling them traitors, or they attack the IRGC for not putting their money where their mouth is and defending Hizbullah (whose last command center in Lebanon fell yesterday to the Israelis). Not only is that segment entertaining: it gives one valuable insights into their mindset
The main takeaway from their analysis is that the regime is supported by only 5-10% of all Iranians, which is 9 million people, max! The regime is trying hard to placate them, even while it ignores everyone else, and so far, it had worked. Except that the islamic republic, while being islamic theologically & culturally, is Fascist both security-wise and economically, so every business that exists – the IRGC has fingers in it. For instance, in the malls, a lot of stores are shutting down b’cos they can no longer afford the rent, and guess who they pay that rent to? The IRGC. So they’re getting pinched every which way
As far as Trump goes, they concede that what he has done is a stroke of genius, since all that the US has to do is just sit and wait until the infighting within the regime supporters escalates to the point that the regime can no longer depend on even their support. But they don’t think that this strangulation alone will bring down the regime: they want the Iranian people to be armed, either by US or by the Israelis. Also, while just from a US POV, it may be fun watching the islamic regime suffocate, as Iranians, they’d like this to end sooner rather than later so that the suffering of their countrymen at large comes to an end
memi says
Huh!?! Amazing to find your comment on one of the old Kay Kaiser band songs of WWII: “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition”!!! Our great-grandparents had fun with in during WWII ! It should be a hit today:) You are right about Islam as we’re in yet another civilizational war and Islam is the “invisible enemy” which is hard to identify and locate. I was reading with concern that Italy is now 9.5% muslim population and crime has doubled with the arrival to the East Med. shores of thousands of young men of military age–no family members with them. Merkel sure left her “woke” legacy for all of Europe to enjoy. This extreme tolerance has backfired. Let’s hope that both the Iran monstrous regime aswell as Sultan Erdogan’s New Iran will soon be “tamed” from their Lebensraum Hitlerian ambitions. Doubt it. And Yes. Vote! Vote! Vote!
Phil says
Will the leadership of Iran hold out till our midterms? Will they be able? Have they been playing us online with social media comments designed to want at least the liberals to vote against Trump and those he endorses so that a Democrat majority will keep Trump busy with lawsuits and block his orders more than recently?