Episode 326: Iran Under Pressure: Economic Strain, Political Stability, and Regional Risk with Professor Djavad Salehi-Isfahani

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

This episode with Professor Djavad Salehi-Isfahani examines how prolonged sanctions, inflation, and structural economic stagnation have reshaped Iran’s political economy. We explore how comprehensive sanctions since 2011 constrained oil revenues and fiscal capacity, why inflation and currency depreciation have reinforced one another over time, and how these pressures have affected poverty, middle-class security, and youth prospects. The…

Iran Under Pressure: Sanctions, Stagnation, and the Limits of Economic Coercion

Iran Under Pressure: Sanctions, Stagnation, and the Limits of Economic Coercion

ByKaterina Mazzucchelli

Iran has faced more than a decade of sustained economic pressure. Inflation has remained above 40 percent. The rial has experienced repeated episodes of sharp depreciation. Oil exports, once the central pillar of state revenue, have been significantly constrained by sanctions. From the outside, it looks like a system in permanent crisis. Yet despite these…