More than 93 million people in Iran now live under the constant threat that the conflict could flare up again, and many expect hard months ahead. After US‑Iran talks in Pakistan failed earlier this month, Washington imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and vessels in the Strait of Hormuz aimed at cutting oil export revenues and preventing Tehran from collecting transit fees. The blockade has also reduced inflows of goods to Iranian ports.
Trade unionist and former Iranian Teachers’ Association board member Ismail Abdi said the continuation of hostilities—whether through direct military action, blockades or regional tensions—places the greatest strain on ordinary people, especially workers, teachers and wage earners. Abdi, a teacher and human rights activist who was previously detained and imprisoned on charges of “propaganda against the political system,” has lived in exile in Germany since March 2025 and continues to advocate for workers’ rights.
Abdi and other observers say the working class is bearing the immediate cost of wartime conditions. When factories, workshops or service projects shut down or scale back, contract workers, day laborers and those in informal jobs lose income first. That loss of employment weakens collective bargaining power and pushes wages toward collapse.
The war has compounded an economy already weakened by mismanagement, corruption and international sanctions. Iranian officials have placed preliminary war damage at roughly €229 billion (about $270 billion), government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told Russia’s RIA Novosti on April 14, though the full extent of damage to major industrial facilities remains unclear.
One of the most visible setbacks was the halt of operations at Mobarakeh Steel Company in Isfahan—Iran’s largest steel producer—after a second US‑Israeli attack in late March. Steel is critical both for military production (missiles, drones, ships) and for civilian industries such as automotive supply chains, appliances, packaging and construction. Iran ranked among the world’s top 10 steel producers in 2025, making around 31.8 million tons annually; between March 2025 and January 2026 steel export revenues were about $860 million (€741 million). With production suspended, thousands of workers were sent home; at least 10,000 steel-industry workers are day laborers. A prolonged shutdown risks a domino effect, forcing suppliers and related companies to stop operations as well.
Strikes on petrochemical plants and gas facilities have caused similarly large disruptions. Attacks on petrochemical hubs in Asaluyeh, the South Pars gas field, Mahshahr and Shiraz damaged plants and left many installations idled; the South Pars field was set ablaze after a mid‑March airstrike. Industrial centers such as Mahshahr, which employ more than 30,000 people, face sudden job losses and pay cuts. Energy strategist Umud Shokri warned the damage reaches beyond individual sites to supply chains, state revenues and household livelihoods; rebuilding a major hub like Mahshahr could take roughly two years and would require foreign technology, capital, spare parts and specialist know‑how that are difficult to obtain under current sanctions.
Job losses have spread across sectors. On April 14 the Iranian Labour News Agency dismissed its staff journalists and shifted them to freelance contracts. Many companies have carried out mass layoffs, including firms in the digital services sector. Ride‑hailing platform Snapp and other online services remain operational but face reduced demand as people travel less and many can no longer afford such services. Internet restrictions imposed since the start of the conflict to curb protests have further damaged livelihoods: thousands of freelancers, programmers and content creators have lost access to work and been pushed back into a fragile traditional labor market. In the short term this produces falling real incomes and rising poverty; over the long term it risks creating a more exploited, less skilled and more dependent workforce.
Abdi says he still hopes for political change in Iran, but he warns the war is accelerating poverty and insecurity among the most vulnerable. He urged an end to the fighting before its human and social costs become irreversible. Attention to the plight of ordinary Iranians appears limited both within the Islamic Republic’s leadership, which he says is focused on retaining power, and among international leaders despite stated promises of support.
Human rights group HRANA reported that from the outbreak of hostilities on February 28 until a fragile ceasefire on April 8, 3,636 people were killed in Iran. Of those, 1,701 were civilians, including at least 254 children.
This report was originally written in German.