Central Bank Governor: At Most 40 Percent of Foreign Trade Could Move Overland Under a Naval Blockade

Abdolnaser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank of Iran, said in an interview with IBENA published on Saturday, August 8, 2026 (17 Mordad 1405), marking National Journalists' Day, that in the event of a naval blockade closing the Strait of Hormuz, at best only 30 percent, and with maximum effort up to 40 percent, of Iran's foreign trade could be handled through overland and northern routes. He added that a naval blockade could generate inflationary expectations independent of its direct effect on imports and exports. Hemmati said the central bank's measures to manage the consequences of the war began on February 28, 2026 (9 Esfand 1404), and that alongside supplying foreign currency for essential goods and medicine, the bank has also had to set the country's monetary and credit policy. He attributed a significant part of wartime price increases to supply pressure and damage to some factories and petrochemical plants, and said the renewed acceleration of inflation that began again in Farvardin this year was halted in Khordad and Tir.