A sanctions-related story from a friend with family in Iran

Like many of us Iranians, a friend of mine has a lot of family in Iran. Unlike me, however, her mother and father are in Iran. They are retirees who own their own home. They no longer need to support their children or have related costs, i.e. diapers, tuition, school supplies, etc. Yet, the sanctions have negatively affected them. With their children now living as adults, these retirees spend much of their evenings hosting friends for dinner or being guests at their friends’ houses. With the cost of basic food items increasing exponentially as a result of the sanctions, these retirees have been hosting less and less gatherings at their home. Conversely, they’ve been invited to less gatherings because their friends are likewise unable to afford to have friends over.

These retirees–and I suspect many like them–are increasingly feeling isolated and alone, and my friend has noticed a deleterious effect on the mental health of her parents. Now imagine if these retirees were responsible for a family, like paying for the tuition costs of one or more child at a university, or didn’t own their own home and had to pay rent?

This is just another story that demonstrates how the US-imposed sanctions on Iran negatively impact such civilians in unforeseen ways.

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