How US sanctions crippled lives of Iranians Trump says he wants to help'

"As demonstrators flood Iranian streets in ongoing protests which started late last month, United States President Donald Trump has threatened military intervention, arguing that he wants to help protesters. He wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday: Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!! He has since echoed those sentiments in other public statements."

"But ignored in his claims of wanting to help Iranians is a fact: decades of US-led sanctions against Iran, including ones that were toughened under Trump, have played a central role in the country's economic crises that were the primary trigger for the current spate of protests. We unpack the impact of US sanctions on Iran and whether its track record in the country has been one of helping people."

"The protests in Iran started from Tehran's Grand Bazaar on December 28, 2025, after the rial plunged to a record low against the US dollar. Shopkeepers shuttered their businesses to rally against rising prices in Iran. The protests have since spread to other provinces and have snowballed into a broader challenge to the country's leadership. On Monday, the rial was trading at more than 1.4 million to the US dollar, a sharp decline from about 700,000 in January 2025 and approximately 900,000 in mid-2025."

Decades of US-led sanctions, including measures tightened under Trump, significantly weakened Iran's economy and contributed to the economic crisis that sparked mass protests. The immediate trigger was a dramatic fall in the rial that began in late 2025, prompting Tehran's Grand Bazaar shopkeepers to protest rising prices. The currency fell from about 700,000 per dollar in January 2025 to over 1.4 million, fueling steep inflation and a 72 percent average increase in food prices year-on-year. The protests spread beyond Tehran into multiple provinces and became a broader challenge to the country's leadership. US sanctions on Iran date back to November 1979 after the embassy seizure following the 1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew the shah.

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