Iran’s inflation falls for the first time in 15 months, but remains at 83.8%

Inflation in Iran has eased slightly for the first time in 15 months, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati announced on Saturday, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, as Al Jazeera reports.

The point-to-point inflation rate fell from 84.4 percent in August to 83.8 percent in September. “Even though the decline is small, the fact that the point-to-point inflation trend is falling is very significant,” Hemmati said.

The news comes amid a new economic squeeze on Tehran: the United States has launched operation “Economic Outcast” with new sanctions, in addition to a naval blockade of Iranian ports — deepening the hardships of Iranians, already hit by decades of earlier sanctions.

Iran’s economy has contracted about 10 percent since the war began seven months ago, while Tehran seeks a way out through diplomacy: Iran has proposed to Washington a 7-day plan for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but President Trump is reported to have rejected the proposal.