Reporting from inside Iran has become difficult. Internet access has been cut across large parts of the country, limiting the flow of news and images, and making verification harder. MBN was able to reach several Iranian sources inside the country, all of whom asked not to be named for their safety. They described worsening living conditions, rising anxiety, and a sense of deepening uncertainty as economic pressure and security tensions build simultaneously.
The economic crisis did not begin with the strikes. It was already there, built over the years of international sanctions and chronic mismanagement. What the military escalation did was accelerate a collapse that was already underway.
The numbers are stark. According to the Iranian Central Bank and the Statistical Centre of Iran, point inflation reached 68.1 percent in February 2026, the highest recorded in decades. Monthly inflation hit 9.4 percent, reflecting a sharp acceleration in prices over a very short period.
Food prices have been hit hardest. Overall food costs are up more than 110 percent compared to the previous year. Bread and grain prices have risen by 142 percent. Meat is up 117 percent. Dairy, cheese, and eggs are up to 108 percent. Fruit has risen by 113 percent. Vegetable oils have seen the steepest increase of all, up to 207 percent.
Wages have not kept pace. Salaries rose by roughly 45 percent in 2025 and 2026, less than half the rate of inflation on basic goods. The gap has hollowed out the purchasing power of middle- and lower-income families, many of whom have begun cutting back on food and medicine.
The strikes added a supply crisis on top of an inflation crisis. Several cities have experienced repeated power outages. Long lines have been formed at fuel stations. Gasoline and domestic gas prices have risen sharply as production has slowed, and distribution networks have been disrupted. Iranian media reports indicate the strikes hit elements of the oil and logistics infrastructure, causing disruptions in transport and supply chains. Shortages have begun appearing in vegetable oils, medicines, and some basic food items.
Unemployment stood at around 7.8 percent in the final quarter of 2025 and into 2026. Internal reports suggest food inflation has exceeded 100 percent in some sectors, pushing a growing number of families below the threshold of what they can afford.
The picture that emerges is not one crisis but two, layered on top of each other. The first is structural, the product of years of sanctions, and economic dysfunction. The second is acute, triggered by strikes that disrupted supply chains, raised import costs, and knocked out pieces of the infrastructure that kept daily life functioning. Together, they have produced conditions that are, for ordinary Iranians, harder than anything in recent memory.
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
Randa Jebai
Randa Jebai is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience. She joined Alhurra TV’s investigative team in 2020, earning honors from the AIBs, New York Festivals, and the Telly Awards. She previously worked with major Lebanese outlets and holds master’s degrees in law and journalism.
