As negotiations edge towards aceasefire, Tehran is trying to blame the country’s economic collapse on the war and foreign pressure.
Yet the data tell a different story: Iran’s economy was already structurally broken before the war.
Years of ideological policymaking, institutionalised corruption, and the militarisation of the economy have caused Iran’s economic ruin.
Iran has been in a state of permanent economic emergency since at least 2018. Official inflation has remained above 40% year after year, destroying the country’s middle class.
World Bank estimates show averageinflationin the high 30s for most of the 2018–2025 period, with spikes of up to 60%, driven by massive currency depreciation and the constant monetisation of fiscal deficits.
Since 2018, therialhas lost almost 95% of its value against the dollar, including a depreciation of more than 60% just between 2024 and 2025.
This collapse stems from relentless money printing to finance uncontrolled budget deficits, a domestic loss of confidence in the currency, capital flight, and a regime that has treated the central bank as a mere financing arm of the state.
All of this has happened while the government received billions of dollars from oil exports and enormous financial support from China, Russia, and other Asian countries.
This is a state that prints money without restraint or underlying demand
The regime insists that Western sanctions are the primary cause of hardship. This is a convenient but false excuse.
Source: ZeroHedge News
