Tehran Residents Abandon Savings and Meat as Inflation Reaches 90 Percent

A newly married woman in Tehran works two shifts to pay off a loan, spending most of her day at a job that leaves her and her husband with little time for anything else.

"Our home has turned into the place we just sleep," she told Radio Farda, noting that they feel poorer every morning.

Her situation mirrors a wider shift across the capital, where families are dropping non-essential spending to cover basic needs.

The economic strain deepened after the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28, which damaged local infrastructure.

Trade routes were disrupted by a US naval blockade that cut oil exports and by Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz that hindered shipping.

In August, the US Treasury launched a new sanctions campaign labeled "Economic D-Day" to further isolate the Iranian financial system.

A field survey by Radio Farda in central Tehran found that the cost of basic meals has nearly doubled in a year.

A serving of ghormeh sabzi with rice now costs 23 million rials, while potato patties cost about 4 million rials.

One woman in the survey said her family saves meat for their children, while she and her husband eat legumes and substitutes to stretch the budget.

Factnameh, a fact-checking group based in Canada, calculated that 11 essential food items cost 56 million rials per person in September.

For a family of three, that total reaches 168 million rials, a sum the government's 10 million rial food voucher covers by less than 18 percent.

Annual inflation hit 89.9 percent in September, while the average monthly wage remains around 100 US dollars. Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati acknowledged the "heavy burden" on citizens on October 23, stating that efforts to isolate the economy had not met their main goals. A retired woman living on an 180 million rial monthly pension has cut meat from her diet since March, citing health concerns despite not paying rent. Even higher earners are feeling the pinch, as a man in western Tehran with household earnings of 1 billion rials said he has no savings for the future. "I can live for today, but I have no savings for tomorrow," he said, adding that travel and dining out have vanished from his routine. A 28-year-old woman earning 400 million rials a month now splits one dish with a friend when they meet at cafes, a change from their previous weekly habits.