The Iranian rial has plummeted to an all-time low, accelerating inflation and heaping severe financial strain on households and businesses as purchasing power erodes across the country.
The slide has been rapid. The U.S. dollar, which traded at roughly 250,000 tomans last week, surged to nearly 270,000 tomans in open-market trading. In Tehran, the fallout reaches far beyond exchange counters and market charts, hitting ordinary families struggling to keep up with soaring costs for basic necessities.
"Most people in Iran earn their income in rials, and those incomes are limited. When the dollar rises, goods tied to the dollar, especially essentials, become more expensive. People feel it because their income is in rials and remains fixed. This has a negative impact on their purchasing power, their lives, and their ability to provide food, housing and other basic needs for their families," said economist Ehsan Zakernia.
The government is also trying to hold down prices for staples such as chicken and meat, and some have stayed relatively stable. Still, the pressure on households has not eased.
"Certainly, when the dollar goes up, prices rise, and people struggle to put food on the table, especially the middle and lower classes," said Masoud, a Tehran resident.
The uncertainty is reshaping how people live. Some residents say they are increasingly reluctant to spend or make transactions because they do not know where prices will move next.
"The biggest issue with the rising dollar is the psychological impact. People feel society could become destabilized, and then, almost immediately, the prices of goods go up," said Fatemeh, a Tehran resident.
"This always puts pressure on us. There is no business at all right now. No business. People are afraid to make transactions," said Esmaeil, another Tehran resident.
The government has been supplying dollars to the market in an effort to ease the mounting pressure. But even those buying government-supplied currency say the exchange rate can change while they wait.
"I came here to buy government supplied dollars. This morning, it was 258,000 tomans for one dollar. I stood in line, and now, after two hours, it has reached 263,000 tomans for one dollar," said Bahram, a Tehran resident.
Authorities are also moving to control how exchange rate information is reported, warning that websites publishing currency prices will face action. For economists, however, the concern runs deeper than the exchange rate itself.
"Conditions are difficult, and if they continue this way, they could reach a point beyond what people can tolerate. That is why the authorities are trying to create stability, so this pressure does not keep intensifying," Zakernia said.
While authorities seek to prevent further price shocks in basic necessities, a weaker rial is making bigger purchases increasingly unattainable, leaving many young Iranians questioning when, or whether, they can afford the things they once considered within reach.
Iran’s rial hits record low, deepening economic strain on households
As the conflict in the Gaza Strip enters its third year, Palestinians are facing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis marked by widespread destruction, severe shortages, and systemic displacement.
Amid the widespread destruction, they are navigating their individual stories of loss, injury, and displacement as they are struggling to rebuild their lives.
Before the conflict which erupted in October 2023, painting was Areej Al-Saafin's passion. However, her brother was killed and her family home was damaged. Al-Saafin and her mother are among the more than 174,000 Palestinians wounded in the war. Having lost one eye, the artist said the trauma has profoundly changed her perspective and her craft.
"As a woman in Gaza, I am destroyed psychologically and physically. I no longer have the same passion as before. Physically, I lost my eye, and I can't focus on painting like I used to," Al-Saafin said.
While large parts of Gaza have been reduced to rubble, some residents are finding their ways to restart their businesses amid the destruction. In eastern Gaza City, Basel Al-Batsh operates a small recycling workshop, producing parts that have become increasingly difficult to obtain due to closed crossings. His own factory was destroyed in the war, forcing him to start over with fewer resources.
"We collect aluminum from the rubble of destroyed homes and recycle it into parts that are no longer allowed into Gaza through the closed crossings, such as generator components and spare parts for cars and trucks," Al-Batsh said.
For others, rebuilding means regaining basic mobility. Omar Halawa was twelve when an Israeli airstrike cost him his right leg. Now thirteen, he is among thousands of war-related amputees in a territory which the United Nations says is home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history. Halawa is still waiting for a suitable prosthetic leg.
"I dream of living a good life in a safe place and getting a prosthetic leg so I can walk normally, play football with my friends and go swimming," Halawa said.
Meanwhile, some women who lost limbs in the conflict have begun their journey back to the football pitch. On a field in central Gaza, young women train on crutches as part of Palestine's first women's amputee football team. Among them is 24-year-old Rozan Khaira, a former runner.
"I joined the team because I was already an athlete. Sports have been part of my life since childhood, and my family is also very athletic. Losing my leg will not stop me from pursuing my dreams and favorite hobbies," Khaira said.
The war has taken a massive toll on the younger generation, with more than 21,000 Palestinian children killed since the conflict began. For some displaced children, recovery is taking the form of music. Inside temporary learning spaces, they are finding a different sound from the war around them, using music to learn, play, and feel like children again. Ghazal Abu Jibba is learning to play the violin.
"We now come every day because the music makes us feel better, especially given the conditions we are living through. We want the war to end so that we, as children, can live in peace and safety," Abu Jibba said.
Across the devastated enclave, tens of millions of tonnes of rubble remain, standing in the way of reconstruction. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's vision of turning Gaza into what he called the "Riviera of the Middle East", a plan linked to the relocation of Palestinians, has met widespread rejection. Despite the ruins, many remain determined to stay on their land.
After three years of war, more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed, and most of Gaza's homes have been destroyed or damaged. Yet amid the loss and pain, Gazans continue to rebuild their lives, holding on to the hope for a better future.
Palestinians in Gaza struggling to rebuild their lives amid widespread destruction
