Iran's oil minister, Mohsen Paknejad, has resigned days after allegations that an intermediary trust owed the state nearly $2 billion in unpaid oil revenue. The departure lands as inflation runs at 85%, the rial trades at a record low against the dollar, and the economy contracted sharply in early 2026.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has accepted Paknejad's resignation, which the minister attributed to personal reasons, days after a report alleged that a trust set up to recoup Iran's overseas oil income owed the National Iranian Oil Company nearly $2 billion (£1.5 billion). Three individual trustees awarded oil contracts are each alleged to owe the NIOC hundreds of millions of dollars more.
A currency in freefall
The resignation lands amid a worsening squeeze on household budgets, with inflation running at 85% and food inflation at 130%. The rial is trading more than 10% lower than a month ago, largely because a US naval blockade is preventing Iran from selling oil, its main source of government revenue. The dollar reached a record 269,000 tomans this week, up 12% since 9 September, while the minimum monthly wage of 166m rials is worth about $66. Iran's economy contracted by 10% in the first three months of the year.
Corruption allegations and a power struggle
Some of the leaks behind the reporting on the trust may reflect a power struggle inside the oil industry. Reza Sepahvand, a spokesperson for parliament's energy commission, has announced the launch of an inquiry into the allegations.
Oil exports under pressure
Ministers have been seeking to rebut Donald Trump's claim that oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz at near pre-blockade rates. Attacks on ships using the strait's southern route near Oman have risen, including four in the past 48 hours, and Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline was forced to close again after a further attack. Still, Reuters reported that the region's seven-day moving average of crude oil exports reached 18.5m barrels a day on 1 October, roughly matching the level before the US-Israeli war with Iran began.
Tehran's mayor, Alireza Zakani, has announced a six-month price freeze on 12 basic items including sugar, rice, oil and detergent, though there is scepticism about enforcement. Reports also point to teachers and nurses resigning in large numbers because salaries are not keeping pace with price rises, amid persistent inflation.
Source: The Guardian
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