Trump 's crackdown on Iran is likely to stifle fear on a global scale, but Iranians are less worried; read why

Less than a year ago, Amir was at a party at the Brazilian Embbady in Tehran, exchanging business cards with shoe manufacturers eager to sell to a market of 80 million Iranians. The product of the evening is still hanging on the walls of its stores: Brazilian flip-flops and bath slippers. But now, the shoes are subject to a government ban on foreign imports as Iran attempts to stifle the impact of US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear deal, which opened the door to new suppliers

. I am selling the stock I have left, "said Amir, 27, standing behind the cash desk of his small shop in a shopping arcade in a wealthy area of ​​northern Tehran. "Once I've sold everything, I'll probably be unemployed," he said, refusing to be identified by his full name because of his concern about talking with foreign media.

Exchanges between Trump and President Hbadan Rouhani this week Since Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in May, the Iranian currency has hit a record low on the black market and foreign companies, including PSA Group and Total SA, were resize operations. What remains are the deep structural weaknesses of the Iranian economy that have been compounded by embargoes, corruption and cronyism over the decades. Banks are paralyzed by bad debts due to years of bad regulation.

Sanctions lifted as part of the nuclear deal are expected to be reinstated within days, while Trump warned Rouhani not to threaten the United States. Record temperatures, meanwhile, led to power outages in major cities and water shortages that triggered protests. Iranians say they are worried that the government is overwhelmed by the scale of the events

"The Rouhani government does not really understand what will happen and what will happen with these penalties, "said Saeed Laylaz. reformist economist who advised the government. "People have lost their trust and they crave efficiency – they make fun of it if it comes from men with beards or ties."

Instead, the leadership is just trying to keep things under control, he says. "The strategy is firefighting," Laylaz said. "They face crises when they happen."

There is little to suggest that Rouhani's position is seriously threatened, but the rapid deterioration of prospects will leave a vulnerable leader, not to mention the Islamic conservatives who exercise such power. The cleric is a little over a year into his second term and is trying to forge unity with the extremists who have always opposed the nuclear deal.

Many Iranians deliberately criticize US foreign policy and ridicule the stated purpose of the Trump administration. to help Iran in the long run by bringing the country back to the negotiating table. They see themselves as collateral damage in a geopolitical game of chicken.

"When you do everything you can to destroy the economy, how does that support us?" Says Parisa, 32. with a friend in October last year. "I think people feel trapped between Trump's politics and the way the leaders here manipulate things."

Frustration with the government, particularly among reformists who voted for Rouhani, is growing. Some lawmakers are talking about a new generation of Iranians who were introduced to the food stamps and rations of war that characterized life during the conflict with Iraq in the 1980s.

Parisa , who voted for Rouhani, said she was putting plans on hold to expand her business because of the dipping currency. Most of the equipment she needs, such as weights and yoga mats, is imported, she says, also refusing to be identified by her full name.

QuicktakeWhere Trump's disregard for Iran could lead

Aliasghar Rezaei to Iran to chart a different course. Under the torrid heat of Tehran, he directs his heavy Iranian Peugeot 406 into the urban traffic of the city. Rezaei ran a garment factory for 35 years. He closed a year ago and started working for a ride-ride app.

"There is no hope in general and one has the impression of being in the end," says Rezaei, 58 years old. overthrow of the shah. "I fought for the revolution and I will probably do it again, but something has to change."

The government has tried to restore some order in the economy and to show that it controls.

Rouhani exposed some of the illegal importing practices and extirpated a number of government-related networks that had controlled car imports for profit. Several officials from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Mining were arrested this week. Rouhani has asked his deputies to accelerate efforts to tackle corruption and should shake his cabinet.

After the brutal fall of the rial while the Iranians were demanding hard currency, the euro was worth 100,000 rials in unregulated markets, according to the Tasnim agency, compared with about 40,000 rials in the same year. last year – the government tried to stop the purchase of panic. But the policy has retreated because some companies have exploited the difference between the fixed rate of the central bank and the illegal black market rates while others have floundered.

Seyyed Ali Jafari returned to Iran in 2014 from the United Arab Emirates a year after the election of Rouhani. The prospect of a sanctions withdrawal and a rapprochement with the West allowed Jafari and his trading partner to consider getting into online advertising in Iran. Application for visas and leave the country after their client base has been decimated, especially since Trump ripped the US part into the nuclear deal. They lost the data center that hosts their server because they can not pay the operator and are left trying to meet a small group of domestic customers, said Jafari

"Our goals for revenue and page impressions and for winning foreign customers all collapsed, "said Jafari." The situation of our company has deteriorated considerably since May. Currency problems, the total lack of access to dollars and currencies prevent us from finding them in the market. We lost customers and foreign suppliers.

Tight controls over dollar and euro supplies and the banning of purchases of non-essential goods abroad mean that many suppliers and retailers are struggling to survive. He helped run the family business, which has three stores in the Iranian capital since his teenage years. He said that he can not remember a time when things felt more precarious and uncertain. A cargo of shoes was blocked by Iranian customs a month ago and is blocked there, he said.

"The whole country is in a state of stress," he said. "It's like everything is at a standstill."