Economy & Environment

People in Iran are often accused of contributing to the country’s economic woes through wasteful habits—not just by officials, but by one another. But how much truth is there to these claims?

Iran’s average meat consumption has dropped to as little as seven kilograms per person annually from an average of 18, with some citizens eating none at all, according to Masoud Rasouli, secretary of the Meat Production and Packaging Association.

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 40 people, including truck drivers and supporters of a growing nationwide truckers’ strike, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Despite legal and religious prohibitions, online gambling is quietly on the rise in Iran, offering an illusory hope of gain to many worn out by economic hardship.

Iran’s ambition to serve as a regional energy hub is faltering, with key neighbors losing confidence in Tehran’s ability to fulfil its commitments and shifting to alternative suppliers.

Iran has been without an economy minister since March—and may remain so even longer—as President Massoud Pezeshkian’s nominee faces mounting opposition from hardliners inside and outside parliament.

Iran’s crude oil shipments to China fell sharply in May as tighter US sanctions and seasonal refinery maintenance weighed on flows, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing preliminary ship-tracking data and market analysts.

Rolling power cuts across Iran continue to mar daily life and livelihoods, according to firsthand accounts by everyday people submitted to Iran International.

Panama’s Maritime Authority said it has removed more than 650 vessels from its shipping registry since 2019, including 214 in the past year alone, as it intensifies efforts to comply with US sanctions on tankers linked to Iran.

Persistent electricity outages are wreaking havoc on daily life across Iran, according to dozens of citizen reports collected by Iran International as part of a campaign documenting the human cost of the country’s deepening energy crisis.

Iranian wildlife authorities are continuing of a round-the-clock search for a missing brown bear cub that escaped from a wildlife clinic in Tehran’s Pardisan Park last week, officials said on Sunday.

A gas leak at a refinery in Fars Province on Saturday resulted in the deaths of two workers and left nine others injured, state-run media outlets reported citing local officials.

Iran’s attempt to quell a growing nationwide trucker strike has stumbled against the sheer scale and ownership structure of the sector, as more than 400,000 privately owned heavy vehicles remain off the roads despite pressure from authorities since the walkout began on May 22.

The truckers’ strike is one of Iran’s largest labor protests in recent years—halting freight, disrupting supply chains, and exposing deeper undercurrents of discontent in a nation already under economic strain.

After five rounds of talks, Tehran and Washington project cautious optimism while persisting on their shared red line: Uranium enrichment inside Iran. But is the program worth the price it has exacted from ordinary Iranians?

Iranian authorities have arrested several individuals accused of filming ongoing truckers’ strike activity in the south of the country and sending the footage to foreign-based media, Iranian media reported.

A week into a sweeping truckers’ strike in Iran, the protest appeared to be continuing unabated despite increased arrests by authorities according to sources close to the movement.

Widespread power outages are crippling daily life across Iran, according to voice messages sent to Iran International by residents in cities including Tehran, Shiraz, Ahvaz and others.