Inflation, soaring food prices, and frozen wages leave millions of families unable to survive under clerical rule
Iran is facing one of the most severe cost-of-living crises in its modern history, with inflation, skyrocketing food prices, and frozen wages pushing millions of working families to the brink of collapse. The crisis, far from being an economic accident, is rooted in a political system that prioritizes regime survival and regional ambitions over the welfare of its people.
The minimum monthly cost of living for a family has now reached 50 million tomans, while the average worker’s wage remains below $200. This stark imbalance is eroding living standards and fueling growing anger among workers and wage earners who make up the majority of the population.
Soaring Food Prices
Basic goods have become prohibitively expensive. According to ILNA, September 28, 2025, the price of red meat has surged past one million tomans per kilo. For a household earning 20 million tomans a month, purchasing even a single kilo of meat consumes a quarter of the monthly income.
Bread, the simplest staple of Iranian households, has risen by 94.3 percent compared to last year. Official statistics show food and beverage prices overall have jumped nearly 58 percent, with inflation now climbing on a daily basis. “Bread alone has increased by 95 percent. This shows how dramatically the cost of living has risen,” labor activist Faramarz Tofighi told Eghtesad News.
Dairy Products Disappearing from the Table
The dairy sector faces the same crisis. The head of the national dairy producers’ union warned that government policies, including allowing exports of powdered milk, have destabilized prices. “We are heading toward a situation where dairy products will be eliminated from people’s diets, while production shifts to exports,” he said.
Frozen Wages Amid Hyperinflation
While prices soar, wages remain stagnant. The minimum wage—including benefits—barely reaches 20 million tomans per month, equal to less than $180 at the current exchange rate. This amount is equivalent to a single day’s wage in many countries.
Labor groups calculate that the average family’s survival line now requires at least 50 million tomans monthly, more than double the official minimum wage. Even according to government criteria for subsidies, a family of 3.3 members must earn at least 33 million tomans, excluding housing costs, to stay above the poverty line.
Yet the government continues to enforce wage freezes, ignoring calls for adjustment. Tofighi noted that the cost of living basket has risen by more than 200 percent since the beginning of the year, but no action has been taken to match wages to reality.
A Strategy of Control, Not Welfare
Observers say this policy is no accident. By keeping wages suppressed while inflation spirals, the regime ensures resources are diverted to political repression and foreign interventions rather than public welfare. Officials promote “austerity” and “contentment” while millions face hunger and despair.
Reaching the Breaking Point
For ordinary Iranians, the cost-of-living crisis is no longer about hardship but about survival itself. With food disappearing from the tables of working families and wages unable to cover even the most basic needs, the crisis is fueling discontent that could spill into widespread unrest.
As the gap between income and expenses widens, the majority of Iranians—workers and wage earners—are being pushed to the edge. The regime may seek to suppress dissent, but the shrinking livelihoods of millions mean that patience is running out, and the potential for mass mobilization is growing stronger.
