(FILES) People walk past shops and browse for goods at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on August 24, 2026. Iran's economy contracted by more than 10 percent during the Middle East war, which began with US-Israeli attacks in late February that unleashed turmoil and battered the Islamic republic's economy. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 10.1 percent year-on-year from late March to late June, a period known in Iran as the first quarter of the Persian calendar, according to the Statistical Center of Iran on September 20. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images) /