Mass Layoffs in Iran as Businesses Buckle Under Wartime Pressures

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Iran was already struggling economically before 2026 brought widespread instability. A government-imposed internet shutdown has crippled an entire sector.

In mid-March, Babak, a 49-year-old Iranian product designer at a tech company in Tehran, was called into his boss’s office and told that his position was being eliminated.

Iran’s government had shut down the internet two weeks earlier, at the outset of U.S.-Israeli war on the country, throwing the country’s tech industry into chaos and making Babak’s job impossible.

“Throughout my career, I have worked hard, continuously learned, and tried to grow,” said Babak, who sent voice messages to The New York Times, and asked to be identified only by his first name to avoid government reprisal. “Yet at this stage of my life, I find myself in an uncertain and ambiguous position,” he said.

Babak’s experience has become increasingly common throughout Iran as companies have instituted round after round of layoffs in recent weeks, according to interviews with businesses and employees and Iranian news reports.

For the Trump administration, Iran’s severe economic struggles are part of a strategy to pressure the country into submission. “I hope it fails,” President Trump told reporters this month, of Iran’s economy. “You know why? Because I want to win.” Iranian officials insist that pressure will not work and that the country will not surrender. » | Leily Nikounazar. Photographs by Arash Khamooshi | Sunday, May 10, 2026

There is one quick, sure-fire solution to this tragedy: Remove the worst, cruellest, most egocentric president ever from office, and imprison him! That will stop all this suffering. — © Mark Alexander

Life under US Sanctions in Iran: Living with Economic Pressure | SLICE | Full Documentary

Mar 25, 2026 | November 1979: The United States impose their first embargo on Iran in response to staff at their embassy in Tehran being taken hostage.

Today, relationships between Tehran and Washington continue to deteriorate and the Iranian economy is suffering under the weight of US sanctions. Inflation, unemployment, trafficking of medicines, and ration coupons – the Iranian people are paying a heavy price. But how do the Iranians survive under the heavy burden of this embargo? And just who is benefiting from it?

From Washington to Tehran, via Brussels, Paris, and Tel Aviv, this geopolitical documentary takes us behind the scenes of this shadow war and retrace the deployment of the US sanctions on Iran since they began.

With testimony from political leaders and economics experts from Europe, Iran, and America, along with extensive archive footage, this film questions the political effectiveness of these sanctions and reveals the input they are having on diplomacy and trade today.

Documentary: Embargo, Iran and the Sanctions
Directed by: Magali Serre
Production: ARTLINE PRODUCTION (2020)

Protests over Economic Situation in Iran | Inside Story

Iranian protesters are angry at the high cost of basic goods. The price of eggs, for example, has gone up 40 per cent in just six months. Some Iranians say it's time for the government to focus on domestic issues, and to forget Syria, and forget Palestine.

These protesters hoped the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2015 would ease their financial struggles. Most international sanctions were lifted, but life for many Iranians has not improved. Government critics say the economic benefits of the deal haven't been passed on because of mismanagement and alleged corruption. They add that the budget announced this month cuts vital social welfare programmes, while giving more money to religious and revolutionary institutions.

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra | Guests: Ali Fathollah-Nejad –Brooking Doha center

Iranian Régime Shows Signs of Instability
THE TELEGRAPH: It has been a long time coming, but unmistakable cracks are beginning to appear in the edifice of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's autocratic regime.

Ever since the ayatollahs overthrew the Shah and seized control of the country in the bloody revolution of 1979, the government of the Islamic Republic has owed its survival to a combination of brutal repression and a highly effective security infrastructure controlled by the Revolutionary Guards.

Most of the country's professional and middle classes were wiped out after Khomeini's takeover, and subsequent attempts by more moderate elements to tone down the revolutionary rhetoric have been repressed. A campaign by the Iranian Reform Movement in 2000 to make the country more democratic and the government more accountable collapsed when its leader was shot in the face by a young religious fanatic.

More recently, Mr Ahmadinejad, a former commander in the Revolutionary Guards, has quashed any hint of dissent, closing newspapers and censoring access to the internet.

Which all makes the recent riots over the introduction of petrol rationing most heartening. Here we have a country that is awash with oil - Iran produces 4.3 million barrels a day and possesses the world's second largest known oil reserves - and yet it cannot provide sufficient quantities of refined material to meet the needs of its 65 million people. Iranian banks feel the heat (more) By Con Coughlin

Mark Alexander

Ahmadinejad Comes Under Attack from Iranian Economists
BBC: Fifty-seven Iranian economists have launched a scathing attack on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

They have accused his government of ignoring the basics of economics.

The university professors say mismanagement is inflicting a huge cost on the economy, the brunt of which will be borne by people with modest means.

This comes as the price of housing has almost doubled in the last year and food is getting more expensive by the week in Iran.

In an open letter to the media, the economists warned that the government of Mr Ahmadinejad had been making hasty and unscientific decisions, and that if this continued Iran would be pushed into a complex economic crisis.

They say instead of analysing the situation, the government just argues official statistics are wrong, and presents its own questionable figures to say the economy is prospering. Economists attack Iran policies (more) By Frances Harrison

Mark Alexander