UN Imposes Sanctions on Iran Amidst Economic Crisis and Nuclear Tensions

In a significant development, the United Nations reinstated sanctions against Iran early Sunday morning, targeting its nuclear program and further intensifying economic pressures on the Islamic Republic. The sanctions will freeze Iranian assets abroad, prohibit arms deals with Tehran, and penalize any advancements in its ballistic missile program, among other measures.

This action, known as “snapback,” was activated under a mechanism embedded within Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement with major world powers. The move comes at a time when Iran’s economy is already struggling, exacerbating food insecurity for its citizens and causing widespread concern about the future.

The Iranian rial has plummeted to record lows, pushing up food prices and making daily life increasingly challenging for many. This includes essential items such as meat, rice, and other common staples on the Iranian dinner table.

Amidst these challenges, there are also growing concerns about a potential escalation of conflict between Iran and Israel, along with the United States, following reports of rebuilt missile sites that were struck during the 12-day war in June.

There is mounting fear within Iran of a rise in repression, with executions reportedly reaching numbers not seen since the end of the Iran-Iraq war in the late 1980s.

Sina, father to a 12-year-old boy who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of repercussions, described the current situation as the most challenging in Iran’s history, even compared to the deprivations experienced during the Iran-Iraq war and subsequent decades of sanctions.

“For as long as I can remember, we’ve been grappling with economic hardship, and each year it seems to worsen,” Sina shared with The Associated Press. “For my generation, our dreams are slipping away.”

Snapback was designed to be immune to vetoes at the United Nations Security Council, meaning China and Russia could not block it alone, as they have in the past regarding proposed actions against Iran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described snapback as a “trap” for Iran on Saturday.

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom initiated snapback 30 days ago due to Iran’s continued restrictions on nuclear program monitoring and ongoing negotiations impasse with the U.S. Since then, Iran has withdrawn from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring following conflicts with Israel and U.S. strikes on nuclear sites within the Islamic Republic.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful, although the West and IAEA claim Tehran operated a covert weapons program until 2003. The three European nations stated on Sunday that they had made considerable efforts to avoid triggering snapback but accused Iran of failing to authorize IAEA inspectors to regain access to its nuclear facilities and for not submitting a report detailing its high-enriched uranium stockpile.

Tehran has argued that the three European nations should not be allowed to implement snapback, citing the U.S.’s unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018 during Donald Trump’s first term as one of the primary reasons.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the three European nations for demonstrating “decisive global leadership” by imposing sanctions on Iran and emphasized that “diplomacy remains an option.” However, it is unclear how Tehran will respond to these developments.

The aftermath of the June war led to a surge in food prices within Iran, making affordable meat a luxury for many lower-income families. Iran’s government reported annual inflation at 34.5% in June, with essential food items rising over 50%. However, these figures do not fully reflect the actual price increases seen in shops. Pinto beans tripled in cost during the past year, while butter nearly doubled. Rice, a staple food, rose by more than 80%, and premium varieties have increased by 100%. Whole chicken has risen by 26%, and the costs of beer and lamb have surged by 9%.

“Every day I see new higher prices for cheese, milk, and butter,” said Sima Taghavi, a mother of two, at a Tehran grocery store. “I cannot omit them like fruits and meat from my shopping list because my children are too young to be deprived.”

The pressure on food supplies and fears of renewed conflict have led to an increase in patients seeking psychological support since June, according to local media in Iran.

“The psychological stress caused by the 12-day war, coupled with runaway inflation and price increases, has left society exhausted and unmotivated,” Dr. Sima Ferdowsi, a clinical psychologist and professor at Shahid Beheshti University, told the Hamshahri newspaper in an interview published in July.

Iran has faced numerous nationwide protests in recent years, driven by economic discontent, demands for women’s rights, and calls for reform of the theocratic system. In response to these protests and the June war, Iran has been executing prisoners at a rate not seen since 1988, when it carried out thousands of executions following the end of the Iran-Iraq war. The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights and the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran reported over 1,000 executions in 2025, with the actual number potentially being higher due to a lack of transparency regarding execution data from Iran.