Iran GDP shrinks 10.1% in first quarter as oil and gas output collapses

September 21, 2026 at 03:38 PM2 min

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Iran's GDP contracted 10.1% year-on-year in the first quarter of the Persian calendar, according to the Statistical Center of Iran. The oil and gas sector shrank 26.4%, while the US naval blockade cut crude loadings to 220,000-255,000 barrels per day in August. The contraction comes as inflation reached 69.9% and the rial fell to more than 2.2 million per US dollar.

Key Facts

Iran's GDP shrank 10.1% year-on-year between March 21 and June 20, the first quarter of the Persian calendar.
Crude oil and natural gas activity contracted 26.4% compared with the same period a year earlier.
Iranian crude and condensate loadings fell from about 2 million barrels per day in March to 220,000-255,000 bpd in August, according to Kpler and Vortexa.
Iran's 12-month average inflation reached 69.9%, and the rial fell to more than 2.2 million per US dollar in early September.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said total trade had fallen by 25 to 35 percent as of September 6.

Economic Contraction

The Statistical Center of Iran reported GDP shrank 10.1% year-on-year in the first quarter of the Persian calendar, covering March 21 to June 20. GDP excluding oil fell 4.6%, while industry and mining contracted 14.7% and services declined 4.8%. Agriculture was the only sector to grow, expanding 2.3% over the same period. The contraction coincided with the opening months of the US-Israel war on Iran, which began on February 28.

Oil Export Collapse

The US naval blockade cut Iranian crude and condensate loadings from about 2 million barrels per day in March to roughly 740,000 bpd in July and 220,000-255,000 bpd in August, according to Kpler and Vortexa. TankerTrackers.com told Reuters that 29 tankers carrying 36.11 million barrels of crude were trapped in the Strait of Hormuz. Vortexa estimated total Iranian crude afloat fell from 135 million barrels at the end of July to 107 million barrels by late August.

Inflation and Currency Pressure

Iran's 12-month average inflation reached 69.9% earlier this month, with food, beverage, and tobacco prices rising at nearly twice that rate. Official unemployment climbed to 9.1% in the spring. The rial fell from about one million to the US dollar a year earlier to more than 2.2 million in early September. President Masoud Pezeshkian said on September 6 that total trade had fallen by 25 to 35 percent, with imports hit harder than exports.