There are gas lines in Iran, but no sign yet that its leaders will bow to US sanctions

Iran’s gas lines are growing, but there’s no sign so far that its leaders will bow to US sanctions 0 seconds of 1 minute, 50 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Amidi says Iraq exploring with Iran 'flexibility' in Hormuz oil exportation 01:08 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% 00:00 01:50 01:50 More Videos 01:08 Amidi says Iraq exploring with Iran 'flexibility' in Hormuz oil exportation 00:32 European leaders arrive in Kyiv to mark Ukraine's Independence Day 01:56 How Bessent's sanctions threats may pressure countries to cut financial ties with Iran 01:29 Oceans hit record temperatures amid climate change and El Nino 01:23 Humanoid beats Usain Bolt's 100m record at Beijing robot games 00:52 A Chinese humanoid robot sets 100-meter sprint record of 8.86 seconds 01:11 France’s Champagne region begins earliest grape harvest on record amid extreme heat 01:27 'Fabric that no electric machine can produce' - the designer who's using traditional hand looms Close 1 of 7 | The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar as trading opened on currency markets. The currency had already been under pressure before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28 - now Trump’s administration has promised even stronger sanctions than those already in place would be announced Monday, including secondary sanctions on countries that continue to do business with Iran. (Produced by Luke Garratt) More Videos 0 seconds of 1 minute, 56 secondsVolume 90% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% Auto1080p1080p720p540p360p270p180p 00:00 01:56 01:56 More Videos Close 2 of 7 | Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced a new round of sanctions aimed at Iran’s trading partners, as a warning for them to sever financial ties with the Islamic Republic or face retaliation from the United States. (AP Video: Nathan Ellgren) 3 of 7 | Cars line up outside a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 4 of 7 | A man is filling up his car at a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 5 of 7 | A man is filling up his car at a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 6 of 7 | Motorcycles and cars line up outside a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) 7 of 7 | A man is filling up his car at a gas station in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) By DAVID RISING Updated 7:59 PM MESZ, August 25, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Lines have grown outside gas stations across Tehran in recent weeks as the United States has tightened its blockade and threatened more severe sanctions, with some people waiting for two hours or more to fill up. The uncertainty deepened on Tuesday, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to fully sever the country from the global economy. In recent days, Iranian officials have spoken of a possible reduction in heavy gas subsidies as they seek to endure the tightening blockade. “Maybe we will face a shortage of fuel,” said Hashem Abadi, a 34-year-old barber. “I rush to the filling stations whenever my tank is down to half or so.” The latest U.S. measures are aimed at wringing concessions from the Islamic Republic nearly six months into the war launched by President Donald Trump and Israel. The war has already battered Iran’s economy and inflicted mounting pain on ordinary people. But there’s no sign yet that it has brought Iran’s leaders to their knees, or that it will reignite the anti-government protests that convulsed the country in January. The lines had been growing longer well before Bessent’s announcement, amid shortages caused by the American blockade and existing sanctions. And with double-digit inflation and the rial currency at a record low, Iranians are struggling to afford more than just fuel. “I’m filling my car as much as possible since soon it will be sold at higher prices,” said 51-year-old taxi driver Mahmoud Chavoshi. “Everything I buy has grown more expensive over the last week, from milk to pasta.” Iranian families struggle to afford the basics as US ratchets up economic warfare 6 MIN READ 686 United Arab Emirates suspends trade with Iran after coming under renewed missile fire 4 MIN READ 21 Iranian-backed Houthis kill 6 in attack on vessel, and other developments in the Mideast 4 MIN READ 21 There were no such lineups outside banks, and grocery stores and pharmacies are still well-stocked, but customers complained about being able to afford less. Inflation has soared during the war, and the currency hit a record low ahead of Bessent’s announcement. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the U.S. of resorting to economic pressure after failing to defeat Iran militarily. He said it was trying to create “social problems and economic dissatisfaction in order to throw Iran into chaos.” “Should we bow down to the problems and surrender? Absolutely not,” he was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies. There are no signs yet that the economic discontent has translated into protests in Iran, where authorities violently crushed demonstrations at the start of the year, killing thousands. Iran has been under heavy international sanctions for decades due to its nuclear program and support for armed groups. Oil sales to China have long provided a lifeline, and it’s unclear if the U.S. can cut them off. Still, there are “always limits to resistance and resilience,” said Mohammad Farzanegan, a professor of Middle Eastern economics at the University of Marburg in Germany. “People are losing their purchasing power every day,” he said. “All of this, combined with worsening diplomatic prospects and the psychological burden of mounting pressures, could push frustration to a point where it can no longer be effectively managed by the state.” Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, who heads the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, a think tank focused on Iran’s economy, said the sectors that Bessent threatened to target “are not lifelines for the Iranian state, they are lifelines for the Iranian people.” In an analysis posted on X, Batmanghelidj said digital assets and gold are how Iranians protect their savings, technology keeps them connected with the world, aviation allows them to travel, and shipping is how food and medicine reach Iran. At the moment, the most effective economic pressure has come from the naval blockade. But last week’s announcement from the United Arab Emirates that it was cutting off all trade and financial transactions with Iran could have longer-term effects if the country follows through, said Sascha Bruchmann, an analyst with the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ Middle East office in Bahrain. Bessent, who on Monday threatened secondary American sanctions on countries doing business with Iran, suggested it was pressure from Washington that led the UAE to its decision. “Actions that they took last week were not coincident but likely causal, and I would expect that we would see a broad array of countries taking similar actions as we continue our engagement,” he said. Iran is exerting pressure of its own by largely closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that carried a fifth of the world’s oil and gas before the war. It’s betting that the impact on the global economy — and U.S. gas prices ahead of midterm elections — will force Trump to back down. “Trump is betting that their time runs out first due to the naval blockade,” Bruchmann said. “Both clocks are ticking, and no one knows which clock is right.” DAVID RISING Rising covers regional Asia-Pacific stories for The Associated Press. He has worked around the world, including covering the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine, and was based for nearly 20 years in Berlin before moving to Bangkok. twitter mailto