Updated

Iran's economy is under mounting strain as oil exports have fallen to zero, the rial trades near record lows, and inflation runs near 85%. Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad resigned amid allegations that an intermediary network owed the state millions in unpaid export receipts, leaving acting minister Hamid Bovard to manage exports choked by a US blockade; an Iran International investigation also found an IRGC-linked network shifting oil-sales operations from the UAE to Russia. Despite this, Iran's central bank chief rejected predictions of economic collapse, and crude exports via the Strait of Hormuz have reportedly returned closer to pre-war levels through pipelines and ship-to-ship transfers. Ordinary Iranians are feeling the squeeze: workers report delayed wages, cut benefits and threats of dismissal for protesting, while growing numbers are crossing into Armenia for work. The economic turmoil has become a political flashpoint, with officials like Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf mocking US economic pressure even as Tehran faces one of its sharpest financial downturns in years.