Passersby walk on a street near a mural depicting the late Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, on June 1, 2026. (Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters)
The Iranian economy was already struggling before the U.S. and Israel launched their war on its territory on Feb. 28. The war only dealt a further blow to a depleted economy, as the fragile cease-fire concluded nearly two months ago threatens to collapse at any moment. Among Tehran's main demands in ongoing negotiations is the partial unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets held abroad for years due to U.S. sanctions. The amount is estimated at between $100 and $120 billion in total, nearly a quarter of Iran's GDP. In a country struck by rampant inflation and massive unemployment — both worsened by war — and whose situation recalls the conditions prevailing during the war with Iraq, these funds would still be far from enough to revive a deeply weakened economy. Patrick Clawson, research director at the Washington Institute...
The Iranian economy was already struggling before the U.S. and Israel launched their war on its territory on Feb. 28. The war only dealt a further blow to a depleted economy, as the fragile cease-fire concluded nearly two months ago threatens to collapse at any moment. Among Tehran's main demands in ongoing negotiations is the partial unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets held abroad for years due to U.S. sanctions. The amount is estimated at between $100 and $120 billion in total, nearly a quarter of Iran's GDP. In a country struck by rampant inflation and massive unemployment — both worsened by war — and whose situation recalls the conditions prevailing during the war with Iraq, these funds would still be far from enough to revive a deeply weakened economy. Patrick Clawson, research director at the Washington...
Iran calls meeting between Mojtaba Khamenei and Donald Trump unrealistic
