Iran economic crisis erodes middle class purchasing power

Iran is experiencing a severe cost-of-living crisis as soaring inflation erodes the purchasing power of the middle class and low-income households. The economic pressure is manifesting in significant changes to household consumption patterns, with families increasingly unable to afford basic necessities such as meat, dairy, sweets, and vegetables.

Mansour Pourian, head of Iran’s Livestock Meat Suppliers Council, noted that declining meat consumption is driven by falling demand rather than supply shortages. Similarly, the cost of housing, medicine, and essential services continues to rise. The crisis is exacerbated by the continuous devaluation of the Iranian currency against the U.S. dollar.

There is a widening gap between wages and the actual cost of living. While official reports have noted high inflation rates, labor activists and workers report that minimum wages and pensions fail to meet the estimated cost-of-living basket. This disparity is transforming monetary inflation into a broader social crisis, pushing many wage earners into the category of the working poor.