5 mins read

Iran’s currency hits a new record low as war erodes the country’s economic stability

Mohebbi on Tuesday called on Americans to take to the streets and protest the conflict. Iran’s currency fell to a new record low on Tuesday, with traders in Tehran exchanging more than 2.5 million rials to the U.S. dollar in a stark reflection of how the war in the Middle East has steadily eroded the […]

5 mins read

Iran’s president delivers defiant UN speech, and other Mideast developments

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant speech at the United Nations on Wednesday as Tehran downplayed talks with the United States. Meanwhile, another ship attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile, highlighting the dangers that continue to restrict traffic through the critical waterway as the seven-month war grinds on. […]

3 mins read

Iranians rally by the hundreds of thousands in biggest show of defiance since war began

CAIRO | Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied Friday in a government-organized show of defiance after months of war, pledging their readiness to take up arms in the biggest such demonstration since the United States and Israel attacked in February. Iran’s government has sought to rally the people and stress national unity, even as the […]

8 mins read

Iran hesitates to clamp down on defiance of headscarf rules as war and economic pressures mount

Women sit at outdoor cafes without headscarves and wearing crop tops. Men in shorts and women in leggings exercise together in parks. At sidewalk concerts, women stop to dance and literally let their hair down. The scenes from the Iranian capital of Tehran, shared in social media videos, point to how dramatically enforcement of social […]

8 mins read

Investors prosper and consumers pay as the Iran war exacts an uneven economic toll 6 months in

NEW YORK | As the U.S. and Israel relentlessly bombed Iran in the opening days of war, the most dramatic predictions of the conflict’s toll were unsparing: surging oil prices, worldwide recession and economic catastrophe. But six months into the conflict, the direst predictions haven’t come true even if no corner of the world’s economy […]

4 mins read

Iran’s rial currency hits new record low as US prepares to announce more sanctions

TEHRAN, Iran | Iran’s currency hit a record low Monday as Washington prepared to announce new sanctions it said would add further pressure on an economy already battered by previous sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade. The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar as trading opened on currency markets. Iran’s official Central […]

8 mins read

Iranian families struggle to afford the basics as US ratchets up economic warfare

TEHRAN, Iran | Tehran’s grocery stores are well-stocked, but many families can barely afford the basics. Unemployment is soaring and those with jobs are working more hours for money worth half as much as a year ago, putting food, medicine and everything else — except for heavily subsidized gasoline — further out of reach. “We […]

7 mins read

Iran security chief threatens neighbors against economic measures, and other Mideast developments

The new leader of Iran’s top security body is threatening neighbors against joining new U.S. efforts to squeeze Tehran’s economy. Egypt is trying to revive Iran-U.S. negotiations. And Iraq and Iran say Tehran has helped some ships carrying Iraqi oil to transit the Strait of Hormuz. France and Saudi Arabia are expected to discuss plans […]

8 mins read

Iran déjà vu: Trump once again threatens massive escalation against Tehran only to walk back

WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump has played this hand before during the 5-month-old Iran war. It starts with a grim warning to Tehran that the Republican president is on the cusp of ordering U.S. forces to “obliterate” its power plants or seize key parts of its oil industry if its leaders don’t quickly agree to […]