Part 4/12:
Due to sanctions that hinder legal trade, a burgeoning black market has emerged, now valued at an estimated $10 billion annually. Here, everything from medicine to baby formula is smuggled across borders, often orchestrated by organized networks tied to powerful elites. Fuel smuggling, particularly of Iran's subsidized gasoline into neighboring Pakistan, becomes a lucrative enterprise under these conditions.
Street vendors and informal workers keep many families afloat despite the instability that comes with such jobs. This trend is not just anecdotal—official figures suggest unemployment is around 10%, but rates among young people soar closer to 30%, leaving a generation disillusioned and jobless.