Iranians expect to feel sanctions' effects

TEHRAN, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Most Iranians said they think sanctions by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union will hurt the country, a Gallup poll indicated.

Twenty-seven percent of Iranians polled said the sanctions already imposed would hurt Iranians' livelihoods "a great deal" and 38 percent said they would hurt "somewhat," results released Tuesday indicated.

The European Union on Jan. 23 banned Iranian oil exports and froze the assets of Iran's central bank in the bloc's member countries to pressure Tehran over its suspected nuclear weapons program. On Dec. 31, the United States imposed sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and Monday President Barack Obama announced he signed an executive order that freezes Iranian state assets in the United States. As financial pressures mount, the value of the Iranian rial has dropped in recent weeks, and prices of food, consumer goods and utilities have soared.

Forty-eight percent of Iranians said there were times during 2011 when they did not have enough money for food, up from 15 percent who said so in 2005, Gallup said. Forty-eight percent of Iranians said there were times in the past year when they didn't have enough money for adequate housing, up from 29 percent in 2005.

A majority -- 55 percent -- of Iranians said they worried for much of the previous day. Forty-seven percent told the Princeton, N.J., polling agency they felt angry a lot during the previous day.

Results are based on telephone interviews with approximately 1,000 adults age 15 and older, conducted Dec. 16 to Jan. 10 in Iran. The margin of error is 3.8 percentage points.