TEHRAN: Iran’s foreign trade has declined by nearly 35% as the country faces continued economic pressure from US sanctions and a naval blockade, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, as Tehran and Washington remain at an impasse over efforts to end the conflict.
Pezeshkian told Iranian state media that exports and imports had fallen by around 35% because of US sanctions and the blockade of Iranian ports.
The economic pressure comes as Iran’s annual inflation reached 66% last month. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has called on the government to address inflation, unemployment and rising prices.
In a written statement, Khamenei urged the government to address what he described as economic and livelihood challenges affecting the population.
US expands sanctions pressure
The Trump administration has intensified its campaign against Iran, warning countries and companies that maintaining business ties with Tehran could expose them to secondary sanctions.
The US Treasury Department recently imposed sanctions on Egypt’s Banque Misr over business involving Tehran and proposed restrictions that would prevent its UAE branches from accessing dollar transactions.
Egypt’s central bank said it and the foreign ministry were in contact with US authorities and clarified that the measure concerned Banque Misr UAE’s US dollar transactions with correspondent banks.
US Treasury officials also announced sanctions against a Hong Kong-based entity and an individual linked to Iran’s Bank Melli.
Washington has so far avoided imposing similar penalties on major Iranian trading partners including China and India, amid concerns that broader sanctions could affect the US and global economies.
Despite the restrictions, Pezeshkian said Iran sold around 90 million barrels of oil during a short-lived June memorandum of understanding under which Washington permitted Iranian oil sales.
Hormuz dispute remains unresolved
The economic pressure has coincided with a continuing dispute over the Strait of Hormuz, a major global energy shipping route.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani travelled to Tehran on Thursday and urged a return to the pre-war situation in which shipping through the strait remained open.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi described his discussions with the Qatari premier as “creative”.
Qatar and Pakistan helped broker the June memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States, which resulted in a brief ceasefire before disagreements over the strait led to its collapse.
US military commanders say American forces have cleared sea mines from the waterway that had allegedly been laid months earlier by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the strait is open. The IRGC navy, however, has rejected the claim and said ships remain required to obtain Iranian permission to pass.
Preliminary shipping data released Friday showed that only seven commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, compared with 17 the previous day and a 10-day average of 15.
With the conflict now entering its sixth month, negotiations remain stalled while Iran faces mounting economic pressure and Washington continues its sanctions campaign.