Economics
Iranians Line Up at Dawn for a Sanctions Meal They Can Afford
U.S. restrictions, plunging rial and smuggling fuel price rises in a test for President Rouhani
Iranian shoppers queue to buy discounted meat from a government supported store in Tehran.
Photographer: Ali Mohammadi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Just after dawn Fatemeh Ansari Mokhtari stood alone outside Tehran’s Shahid Baharloo supermarket, gripping the edge of her black chador.
Hours later she was still there, now at the head of a long queue, as a refrigerated van pulled up and the driver unloaded Australian-reared lamb wrapped in white muslin. The 69-year-old was eligible for 3 kilograms of state-subsidized meat, her monthly allotment.
“It’s good we have this at least, otherwise what would we do?” she said. “It’s bread and milk, too -- the pressure is immense.”