TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign trade has fallen nearly 35% under US sanctions and a naval blockade, President Masoud Pezeshkian said, as Iranian leaders acknowledged mounting economic pressure six months into the war.
Annual inflation reached 66% last month, while Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei called on the government to address inflation, unemployment and rising prices.
Pezeshkian told Iranian state media that both exports and imports had contracted by nearly 35%. He said Iran nevertheless sold about 90 million barrels of oil during a short-lived June memorandum of understanding that temporarily allowed Iranian crude sales.
The United States has intensified its financial pressure campaign, warning countries against maintaining business ties with Tehran or risking secondary sanctions.
Iran Says Trade Falls by Up to 35% Amid U.S. Sanctions and Blockade | Asia One News#Asiaone #AsiaOneNews #Iran #USSanctions #IranEconomy #IranTrade #TradeCrisis #EconomicSanctions #USIran pic.twitter.com/qrMqLFkU6q
— ASIA ONE NEWS (@AsiaOne_News) August 29, 2026The US Treasury Department imposed measures against Egypt’s Banque Misr over dealings with Iran, proposing restrictions on US dollar transactions involving its United Arab Emirates branches. Egypt’s central bank said the measure was limited to those dollar transactions and that officials were in contact with Washington.
The Treasury also targeted a Hong Kong-based entity and an individual linked to Iran’s Bank Melli, according to a notice from the department.
Read: US-Iran War Reaches Six Months as Economic Pressure Builds
Economic pressure has coincided with continuing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. Preliminary shipping data showed seven commodity vessels transited the waterway on Thursday, down from 17 the day earlier and below the 10-day average of 15.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani held talks with Iranian leaders in Tehran on Thursday, pressing for a return to open shipping through the strait. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi described the discussions as “creative.”
