The shelves may be full. That does not mean people can afford what is on them.
, soaring prices are changing what families can put on the table. FAO reported that by April 2026, retail prices in Tehran were about 170% higher for wheat flour and 220% higher for rice than a year earlier, driven largely by the collapse of the rial.
But this is more than a story about inflation.
The right to adequate food means food must be physically and economically accessible, without forcing families to sacrifice other basic needs such as medicine, housing or education.
And when households are cutting food while the Islamic Republic continues to direct substantial resources toward regional political and military priorities, government choices become part of the human-rights question. Reuters reported that sent around $1 billion to Hezbollah in 2025, citing sources familiar with the transfers.
Food security is not measured by what sits on a shelf. It is measured by what people can actually afford to put on the table.
Swipe through for the evidence, the wider context, and why the right to food is also about government priorities.
