Abstract. For more than forty years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been living under sanctions pressure. The article made an attempt to analyze the types of sanctions, the reasons for their introduction, and most importantly, the consequences of these sanctions and the possibility of confrontation. The author focuses on the impact of sanctions on the country’s economy in recent years, when many socio-economic problems have worsened. Despite the positive growth of the country’s GDP over the past two years, the economic crisis has not been completely overcome. Against the backdrop of a relative improvement in the economy, a series of protests began in September 2022 caused by police violations of civil rights. Initially, the protests had a socio-cultural focus, however, they affected both the economy and politics. Restrictions on the use of the Internet, through which the protesters were coordinated, led to such disruptions in the work of large, medium and small businesses, and especially in the field of electronic commerce, that international financial organizations were forced to revise and reduce their forecast estimates of the growth rate of Iranian GDP. In addition, the authorities’ harsh response measures gave Western countries a reason to increase sanctions pressure on Iran. US sanctions, primarily related to the Iranian nuclear program, could not be eased through diplomatic efforts. On the contrary, the delay in negotiations gave Iran a reason to initiate further development of its nuclear program. This, in turn, prompted leading European countries to voice their complaints about Iran’s nuclear program and join the United States in introducing additional anti-Iranian sanctions. The situation worsened even more after Netanyahu won the elections in Israel with his pronounced anti-Iranian position. A vicious circle is emerging when the difficult situation in Iran pushes the West towards new sanctions. And sanctions have a detrimental effect on the economic and political life of Iran. As a result, the country faced a new set of problems and an increase in the conflict potential of society.