Hemmati: Iran's Oil Revenue Has Stopped and a Large Share of Its Foreign Reserves Are Inaccessible

According to Ruznameh Sazandegi, cited by EcoIran and published Saturday, August 22, 2026 (31 Mordad 1405), Central Bank of Iran Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati said in a television appearance that Iran's revenue from oil sales has nearly stopped. He said Iraq and Qatar are also facing a halt in part of their oil revenue because of regional conditions, but unlike Iran they retain access to their own central bank reserves, while a significant portion of Iran's foreign reserves held abroad remain frozen.

Hemmati described the current situation as more difficult than the 2018 to 2020 sanctions period, when he also headed the central bank. He also pointed to a simultaneous decline in government tax revenue and social security premium collections. According to Sazandegi, economists say a simultaneous halt in oil, tax and insurance revenue raises the risk that the budget deficit will be financed through borrowing from the banking system, fueling monetary base growth and inflation.