Economy & Environment

Iran is facing one of its bleakest economic outlooks in years, data published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) suggests, with inflation surging, fiscal deficit growing and nominal economy shrinking—all indicators of potential long-term instability.

Iranian officials and media have welcomed a piece of legislation required for compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), though the path to removal from the watchdog’s black list remains uncertain.

Oil prices fell sharply on Thursday as signs of progress in US-Iran nuclear negotiations and an unexpected rise in US crude inventories raised concerns about a potential supply glut.

When US President Donald Trump torched Iran’s leadership in a long speech in front of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in Riyadh on Tuesday, he likely didn’t anticipate how warmly his words would resonate with many Iranians—or perhaps he did.

Iran’s Expediency Council has conditionally approved the country’s accession to the Palermo Convention, one of the two key legislative items tied to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards aimed at addressing money laundering and terrorism financing.

As Iran grapples with a worsening electricity crisis, the government has resolved to prioritize power supply to industries, sacrificing residential comfort and daily public services in a bid to avert economic collapse.

Commentator in Tehran are warning that Iran’s economy has become to dependent on news from Washington, with markets reacting sharply even to personnel changes in the US president’s inner circle.

A gas deal inked last month between Moscow and Tehran to transfer vast Russian volumes by pipeline via Azerbaijan faces the same logistical and financial obstacles that have sunk decades of energy deals between them before.

Iran will implement a long-delayed redenomination of its national currency this year, Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin said on Monday, reviving a plan to strike four zeros from the rial and formally replace it with the toman in a bid to simplify transactions.

Iran has issued its first drilling order in the Caspian Sea in nearly 30 years, aiming to revive long-stalled exploration in the region, Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Friday.

Iran’s capital is grappling with renewed electricity outages but growing evidence suggests the burden of power cuts is falling unevenly across the city, raising concerns over social equity and institutional bias in blackout management.

Severe weather events, including strong winds and lightning, have resulted in the deaths of nine people and injuries to 86 others across Iran over the past week, the national emergency services said on Tuesday.

Iranian authorities have ordered the closure of the country's sole national Water Museum to accommodate the relocation of the Quran Museum, a move that has sparked strong criticism from museum experts and staff, according to an Iranian daily.

Iranian officials are sounding alarms over a deepening water crisis that has already affected nearly four dozen major dams, threatened electricity production, and forced Tehran into rolling blackouts.

Turkey's state-owned Halkbank has asked the US Supreme Court to review a lower court decision that allows it to be prosecuted for allegedly helping Iran evade American sanctions, a lawyer for the bank said on Monday.

Iran’s escalating water crisis is not only draining its aquifers but also laying the groundwork for potentially devastating earthquakes, a leading geology expert warns.

Iran’s currency fell sharply on Saturday after a planned fourth round of indirect talks with the United States was postponed, as sharp disagreements over uranium enrichment and inspections cast doubt on prospects for a breakthrough.

President Masoud Pezeshkian’s campaigned on transparency, but his administration is presenting inflated and misleading data about Iran’s energy sector in an apparent bid to soothe public dissatisfaction with deepening blackouts.