Inside Iran: The Impact of Sanctions

ABC News correspondent Muhammad Lila reports from Iran this week.

ByABC News
November 2, 2013, 8:53 AM

TEHRAN, Iran Nov. 4, 2013— -- ABC News reports from Iran this week, digging into a changing country few Americans understand. His latest dispatch:

Some of the most common questions people have been asking on social media using the hashtag #InsideIran are about the impact of sanctions. They want to know if Iranians are suffering.

I'm not an economist, and all I can do is speak from my observations based on a limited sample size. But everywhere in Tehran, there are signs of growth. Construction, street repairs, new parks -- you name it.

At one of the city's biggest grocery stores, business was booming, with Iranians scurrying about with shopping carts stuffed with local and imported brands.

FULL COVERAGE: ABC NEWS REPORTS FROM INSIDE IRAN

One of the few voices who complained to us about the sanctions was Mehran Gholizadeh. His family has owned a small grocery shop for more than 60 years. While he wouldn't say sanctions were crippling, he made it clear: He missed the "good old days" when Iranians could afford to buy lots of food, compared to today when budgets don't go as far as they used to.

This is him, in his own words, telling his own story.

Follow along on our live blog and with #InsideIran on Twitter.