Are U.S. Sanctions Having An Impact On Iran?

Iran Is At Breaking Point Under US Sanctions – And Its Leaders Feel The Heat -- Simon Tisdall, The Guardian

Despite talk of a defiant 'resistance economy', the consequences may be dire if a nuclear deal with the west does not come soon

At the car repair shop on Soreana Avenue in central Tehran, Homayoon is happy to talk; after all, there is not much else to do. Business is bad, he says, as he wipes his hands with an oily cloth. It's the same for everybody.

"It's not good at all. Petrol is expensive, so people drive less, so they break down less," Homayoon says. Wearing a grubby red T-shirt advertising Axol Lubes, he laughs and shrugs when asked whether American sanctions are to blame for high prices and lack of customers.

"Of course it's sanctions!" interrupts Ali, another mechanic. "The economy is sick. My friends have small businesses like this one. Electricity is up 25%, water up 30%, petrol up 75%, business tax up, VAT up. Interest rates are 25%, so they can't borrow. They can't handle it," he says.

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My Comment:  It is always easy to blame the U.S./other nations/etc. for one's economic problems when the real problem are the policies and actions implemented by the government in power .... in the case of Iran the ones who are to blame are the mullahs in Tehran. Unfortunately for Iran .... the support for the mullahs is still strong, and as long as these religious fundamentalists remain in power and are positioned to prosper from it I see little if any change happening in Iran.