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Iran's Businesses Begin to Buckle under Sanctions Threat
(Wall Street Journal) Aresu Eqbali and Asa Fitch - New U.S. sanctions are sending an economic shock through Iran even before they take effect. Iran's manufacturers, Persian-rug exporters and shopkeepers have increasingly struggled to make transactions in dollars for imports of needed supplies. Foreign companies are winding down contracts and the threat of sanctions has scared away big foreign banks, many of which paid billions of dollars in fines to U.S. regulators for sanctions violations in the past five years. The weakness of Iran's rial - down 50% this year - has made imports so expensive that Iranian companies are cutting production and canceling contracts.