Before air raid sirens blared across Israel, many Iranians were frantically stockpiling essential supplies amid diplomatic collapses and soaring inflation.

Tensions continued to escalate as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio officially listed Iran as a “state sponsor of unlawful detention,” accusing Tehran of using foreign nationals as tools for political coercion.

Anxiety grips Iran
According to the BBC, fears of a US attack have left Iranians uneasy, constantly monitoring military developments and divided over the prospect of foreign intervention. Amidst the rush to stockpile essential supplies and prepare emergency supplies, numerous European and Asian countries have urged their citizens to leave Iran immediately.

“A few days ago, I bought a power bank to charge my electronic devices. Now I’m looking for a shortwave radio so I can listen to the news if the government cuts off the internet and the power infrastructure is bombed,” a 28-year-old resident of the capital, who requested anonymity, told Aljazeera.

This preparation is based on worrying precedents. The Iranian government cut off the internet on a large scale during the 12-day war with Israel last June, and continued with a record-breaking 20-day complete disconnection in January, affecting around 92 million people.

Soaring food prices due to rising inflation have plagued the country for more than a decade, a consequence of a combination of persistently poor local governance and US and UN sanctions.

According to separate reports released on February 26 by the Iranian Statistics Center and the Central Bank of Iran, inflation has now surged above 60%. The Statistics Center identified annual inflation for Iran’s Bahman month, ending February 19, at 68.1%, while the Central Bank reported a figure of 62.2%.

As the threat of war increases, not all Iranians are able to stockpile food. Food prices have risen sharply, by 105%. Cooking oil prices have more than tripled (207%), bread more than doubled (142%), and red meat by 117%.

On February 26, the Iranian rial stood at approximately 1.66 million rials per US dollar, near a record low.