(NewsNation) — Journalist Shane Smith says his recent trip to a seemingly bustling Tehran suggests Iran has adapted to a cascade of economic sanctions and contradicts Trump administration claims that the country has been crippled.
“First thing I noticed, actually — traffic jams, lots of traffic jams, because people were going to work,” the Vice editor-in-chief told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” on Wednesday. “Everything’s open. All the stores are open. All the restaurants are open. Went to the bazaar. It’s packed.”
He stopped short of saying Iran was “business as usual.” Smith said Iran’s economy has managed to stay afloat because the Revolutionary Guard has pivoted to smuggling.
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He likened the armed forces to a “mafia” that brings goods into the country and sells them.
Smith also said regular Iranians he met in Tehran were downright friendly toward Americans.
Drivers queue at a petrol station to refuel in Tehran, on August 25, 2026. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent laid out plans for the “economic asphyxiation” of Iran, expanding Washington’s secondary sanctions threats and warning of dire consequences for countries that do not join the campaign. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
“They’re like, ‘Hey, we love you, but we hate your ‘regime’ and what it’s doing to us,” he said.
Smith conceded it’s tough to get an honest opinion from Iranians about their government.
He estimated that the majority of Tehran residents are against the regime, but added, “Now, they can’t do anything because, again, the Revolutionary Guards have the power and the guns.”
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