Iran struck key Israeli defense and research sites in June, official says

Once limited to big-ticket items like furniture or electronics, installment purchases are now being used to pay for daily essentials, from fruit and rice to detergent and chicken.

According to Etemad, field reports from Tehran and other cities suggest that even small neighborhood grocers and butchers are offering informal credit lines to loyal customers, often without collateral, checks, or formal agreements — simply on trust.

“They come every week and settle their bills at the start of the month, once salaries come in,” said one Tehran shopkeeper. “It’s like an installment plan — just between us.”

Strain breeds new norms

The practice, known locally as “hesab-daftari” (ledger credit), is expanding rapidly amid what economists describe as a deepening period of stagflation — a toxic mix of high inflation and economic stagnation. The article says the shift reflects a broader trend: the normalization of debt as a tool for day-to-day survival.

“In the past, installment buying was for luxury goods,” Etemad cited Ahmad Janjan, an economist based in Tehran. “Now it’s a way to afford bread and shampoo.”

He added that this shift is driven primarily by falling real wages, lack of liquid savings, and the rising cost of living.

From credit apps to corner stores

While fintech platforms like Digikala and Snapp Pay – Iran's top online markets -- have introduced digital installment options with slogans such as “no check, no guarantor,” it is the informal, person-to-person credit that is becoming more prevalent.

Some meat shops now allow buyers to split payments for poultry and beef. In produce markets, fruit vendors maintain handwritten tabs for repeat customers. Others offer agreements on mutual trust, sometimes in exchange for steady patronage.

'Buy now, pay more'

But not everyone is embracing this development as a lifeline.

“The shirt I bought online cost me 1,500,000 rials (about $2) more than in the store,” one customer wrote on social media. “But the store wouldn’t sell in installments. I had no choice.”

Others raised concerns about hidden fees and rising consumer debt. “This isn’t just delayed payment,” another user commented. “It’s disguised interest — and it adds up.”

Etemad cited Iranian economists as warning that while installment buying can temporarily soften financial blows, it also carries long-term risks in the absence of consumer protections or reliable credit scoring systems.

“There are no unified regulations on this,” said Janjan. “People may end up with debt they can’t service, all for everyday necessities.”

The growing reliance on credit is also changing spending behavior. Morteza Afghah, another economist, told the daily, “You get what you need today, but repayment obligations can pile up and strain households even more.”

Afghah links the trend to "deep-rooted structural issues, including political instability, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and unstable regulation — all of which raise production costs and feed into the country’s chronic inflation."

He warned that installment-based purchases are becoming more diverse fast, attributing the trend to what he called "stagflation."

“We are not only facing inflation and recession at the same time, but their combination — stagflation — has become a chronic condition in Iran’s economy, making it more difficult and time-consuming to address.”

“We are obliged to regulate our interactions with the agency based on the law passed by parliament,” the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said during his weekly briefing, referring to legislation that suspended IAEA access to nuclear sites.

In late June, Iran’s parliament approved a bill to suspend the country’s cooperation with the IAEA, a day after a ceasefire with Israel following 12 days of deadly war.

The bill, passed with 221 votes in favor, none against, and one abstention out of 223 members present, bars the UN nuclear watchdog’s inspectors from accessing Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Iran also accused the agency chief Rafael Grossi of bias and failing to condemn the attacks.

No normal situation, Iran says

Baghaei said Monday that Iran’s nuclear facilities came under attack during the recent conflict, adding that the current situation is not normal and could raise concerns about ensuring the safety of international inspectors.

The scheduled visit, according to the ministry, expected within 10 days, will take place within the framework of technical cooperation.

However, Baghaei said, “The visit of IAEA representatives to Tehran is being carried out to examine the matter. We are facing an exceptional situation: for the first time in the history of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the operating facilities of a Non-Proliferation Treaty member state—facilities under 24-hour agency supervision—have come under unlawful attack by two nuclear-armed regimes."

The foreign ministry accused the IAEA of abandoning neutrality, failing to condemn the attacks, and enabling external pressure through its own actions.

‘Defensive capabilities not up for negotiation’

Iran would assess the outcome of the IAEA visit and make decisions about future cooperation in line with the binding parliamentary mandate, Baghaei added.

Any further negotiations must include demands for accountability and compensation over the strikes on nuclear infrastructure, he said.

Responding to recent comments by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who said Iran’s 60 percent enrichment has no civilian justification, Baghaei dismissed the remarks as politically motivated.

“He is in no position to cast doubt on Iran’s nuclear program,” the ministry spokesman said.

Iran’s defensive capabilities would not be subject to any negotiation, Baghaei said, criticizing the European parties to the nuclear deal for “inconsistency.”

While deputy foreign ministers remain in contact, he said, no date has been set for a next round of talks with the E3.

“We have made it clear to the United Nations and the Security Council that such a step is a misuse of international structures, and the Islamic Republic will respond decisively,” he said.

Speaking to parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, Gharibabadi said Tehran instead suggested talks on formally ending both the resolution and the snapback clause.

The government remains committed to the law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Ebrahim Rezaei, the committee’s spokesperson, quoted Gharibabadi as saying.

President Masoud Pezeshkian enacted the IAEA suspension law early in July, following its approval by parliament and the Guardian Council. Rezaei described the legislation as “binding and enforceable.”

European states have failed to uphold their obligations under the nuclear agreement, the deputy foreign minister said, and therefore “have no right to activate snapback,” according to Rezaei.

Meanwhile, hardline newspaper Farhikhtegan warned in an article of escalating tensions, the possibility of military conflict, and the formation of a global consensus against the Islamic Republic following activation of the snapback mechanism by European countries.

Iran aligns with China, Russia on snapback response

Tehran had held a trilateral meeting with Beijing and Moscow to coordinate a joint stance in case the European powers move to reimpose UN sanctions, Gharibabadi told the committee.

His comments follow renewed scrutiny of Iran’s ties with its two main partners.

On Sunday, Revolutionary Guard political deputy Yadollah Javani responded to domestic criticism over Chinese and Russian inaction during Israeli attacks by saying Tehran had made no request for support.

Long-term agreements with both countries “do not oblige them to defend the Islamic Republic during war,” he added.

Separately, Saudi outlet Al Hadath reported that the United States is pressuring China to halt Iranian oil imports.

Beijing has expressed willingness to reduce purchases if offered lower prices elsewhere.

Citing informed sources, Al Hadath also reported that according to US assessments, the administration of US president Donald Trump may have no more than one year left to act against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

“Washington does not intend to give Tehran any opportunity to rebuild its power,” wrote the outlet.

US President Donald Trump repeatedly said that American airstrikes had obliterated Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

“Hashd al-Shaabi ensures the security of Arbaeen,” Kouhsari said. “We should not say anything that undermines the importance of our allies or the resistance forces. This is a shared position we must uphold.”

He cautioned against openly voicing political opinions about Iraqi factions, warning that doing so could trigger internal tensions. “There is no reason for our pilgrims to speak freely and recklessly about Iraq’s political currents. God forbid it leads to discord,” he added.

Since the 2003 US invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, numerous militias have emerged in Iraq, many with ties to Iran. Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023 and the recent Israel-Iran escalation, including US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the pro-Iran factions have periodically targeted US bases in Iraq.

Groups within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella group of mostly Shia armed groups originally formed to fight the Islamic State and then integrated into Iraq's security forces, have been among those involved.

A focal point of US-Iraqi tensions lies in the future of the PMF. Though nominally under Iraqi military command since 2016, many PMF units maintain strong ties to Iran and operate with broad autonomy.

Sajjad Razavi, deputy health minister for treatment affairs, confirmed Sunday that the case will soon be submitted to the prosecutor’s office.

“The issue is under review, and the file is being completed,” Razavi told Tasnim News Agency. "Any violations are under investigation, and the final decision will be made by the judiciary."

The embryos have since been moved to a different medical center “in coordination with the owners,” he said.

The controversy surfaced after Shargh newspaper reported on July 29 that multiple frozen embryos stored at Aban Hospital in Tehran had disappeared or been wrongly transferred.

Four months earlier, the hospital had abruptly shut down its IVF unit without informing families who had stored embryos, sperm, or eggs.

Families discovered the issue by accident, and in some cases were told that their embryos were either missing or delivered to the wrong recipients during the relocation process.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is permitted in Iran under religious guidance. Demand for fertility services has surged in recent years as the country grapples with declining birth rates, rising infertility, and widespread economic uncertainty delaying marriage and childbearing.

Government policy has increasingly emphasized population growth, with officials urging couples to have more children. However, access to fertility care remains costly and largely urban-centered, driving some to entrust long-term embryo storage to major hospitals.

Aban Hospital is run by Iran University of Medical Sciences and falls under the Health Ministry.

However, health officials have denied any wrongdoing. “The embryos were being preserved under proper conditions,” Mohammadreza Foroughizad, head of public relations at the university, said on July 30.

University president Nader Tavakkoli dismissed the affair as a misunderstanding caused by temporary renovations and said no embryos had been harmed.

But Shargh reported that police visited the hospital on July 28 and formally registered family complaints. Many families still do not know where their frozen embryos are.

They are demanding accountability, judicial action, and compensation for damages, as well as the safe return of their biological material.