Sputnik - It has been less than a month since the US sanctions against Iran came into effect; however, they have already affected the lives of the Islamic Republic’s residents. Sputnik spoke with ordinary Iranians and entrepreneurs about the way the US sanctions have affected their lives and businesses.




Insurance

The US sanctions have an indirect effect on insurance and this trend was usually called the anticipation, Mahmud, an insurance specialist, told Sputnik.

According to the specialist, the business environment has already started responding to the news of the introduction of sanctions, which has resulted in an increase in the price of gold and foreign currency.
"Obviously, the general price level has also increased, although there were still a few months before the sanctions came into effect in August," he added.


Mahmud stressed the inability to conduct foreign currency transactions and the growth of the cost of insurance due to inflation as having been prompted by the re-introduced sanctions. For example, they've faced an increase in car insurance prices and a significant increase in the cost of certain insurance certificates, such as health insurance cards, due to the increase in prices for medicine and medical equipment.

Automotive Industry

If one chooses to observe automotive industry the conditions for the development of the industry are now much better compared to the period before the JCPOA, Pouriya Ebnrahimi, a machine industry specialist in the field, said.
"The number of cars produced has grown; the presence of French (automakers) Peugeot and Renault in Iran has played a significant role in the development of the industry. We can say that we haven't seen the full effect of the US sanctions. However, there has been a significant increase in car prices in the free market, and some automakers have found it hard to sell (cars)," the expert explained.


Ebnrahimi also noted that as soon as the sanctions come into full effect, there would to be a drop in car production. In addition, certain companies would not get a chance to produce domestically if the French companies leave Iran.

In addition, there are a lot of people in the automotive industry that could lose their jobs because of sanctions. When asked whether the sanctions would put Iran in the position where it was before the JCPOA, the expert said there was no straight answer.
"There's no single answer. On the one hand, both the US and Iran already have some experience with previous sanctions, which they can rely on. On the other hand, the US sanctions against Iran are unilateral. Europe and the world community have condemned the US withdrawal from the agreement, which had been negotiated for a long time. Iran's advantage is its partnership with Russia and China."


Book Publishing

Hamed Kani, a book publishing specialist, stressed the negative effect of the measures, not only on the country's economy, particularly book production, but also on the mood within society.

The expert pointed out that the first problem the sanctions have brought to the public was the psychological mood of a society that was deteriorating, which might result in the economic unrest in various industries and could destroy progress.

Kani also stressed that the change in the value of the currency and soaring prices have led to a rise in their production costs. This fever has also affected the securities market, which also has a free and a state price; this has also affected book production.
"Books are gradually leaving the book basket thus leading to a drop in sales. So, we have to sell more products having produced fewer. So, while the number of copies is going down, the prices are rising. If consumers were more interested in books, they might be cheaper then," the expert added.


Kani believes the situation won't get better and that inflation will continue, which will also have a negative effect on book publishing.
"I'm not sure we are going to return to the times before the JCPOA. Our historical data shows that the situation won't get better. When prices rise, they rise even more in a while, but they don't go down. Only something like the Resolution 598 can improve the situation, but I doubt we're going to see something like this. I think the dollar will soar, thus affecting book publishing greatly," Kani explained.