Tehran Households Cut Meat and Savings as Inflation Tops 89 Percent

A newly married woman in Tehran says the money her family saved for their wedding celebration instead paid for a housing deposit. She now works two shifts to repay a loan and spends most of her waking hours at work. She told Radio Farda that her home has become a place where they simply sleep, noting that they know every morning they are poorer than the day before. She asked that her name be withheld.

Her situation mirrors a wider struggle across Iran. Rising living costs are forcing households to rethink spending on food, housing, travel, and savings. Years of international sanctions, persistent inflation, and the weakening rial have strained the economy. This hardship helped drive the protests in January, which authorities ended in a deadly crackdown.

Financial pressure increased after the United States and Israel began a war against Iran on February 28. The conflict damaged infrastructure and disrupted trade. A US naval blockade of Iranian ports cut oil exports and imports, while Iranian attacks on the Strait of Hormuz hindered shipping further. In August, the US Treasury launched a new sanctions campaign labeled "Economic D-Day" to isolate Tehran financially.

A field survey by Radio Farda in central Tehran found that families are changing shopping priorities and abandoning activities once common for the middle class. The cost of cooking at home has shifted dramatically. Making chicken and barberry now costs nearly twice as much as it did a year ago. A meal of ghormeh sabzi, a national dish of herb stew and rice, costs 23 million rials, or about $8.45. Potato patties, known as kookoo sib zamini, cost about 4 million rials.

One woman said her family saves most of its meat and chicken for their growing children. She and her husband eat legumes and meat substitutes instead. They fear that further price increases could force them to cut meat from their children's meals as well.

Factnameh, a Canada-based fact-checking outlet, estimated that a basket of 11 essential food items cost 56 million rials per person in September. For a family of three, that total exceeds 168 million rials, or $61.70. The government's food voucher of 10 million rials covers less than 18 percent of the per-person cost. This is a drop from about 30 percent in December 2025. Annual inflation reached 89.9 percent in September, while the monthly wage is estimated at around $100.

Abdolnaser Hemmati, the central bank governor, acknowledged on October 23 that Iranians are bearing a "heavy burden." He stated that efforts to isolate the country's economy had failed to achieve their main objective. A retired woman living on a monthly pension of 180 million rials said she has cut back on meat and other protein sources since March. She worries about her health but considers herself fortunate because she does not pay rent.

Those earning above the average are also feeling the strain. A middle-aged man in western Tehran said his salary and rental income bring his household earnings to 1 billion rials, well above the average monthly household income in Tehran of 600 million rials. He said he can live for today but has no savings for tomorrow. Travel, dining out, and saving have disappeared from his life.

A 28-year-old woman in Tehran earning 400 million rials a month has changed how she socializes. She and her friends used to visit cafes weekly. Now they sometimes order one dish for two people to split the bill. Sharing, she said, is the only way to make an outing affordable.