Iranians still waiting for change after sanctions were lifted

An anti-U.S. mural looms large on a boulevard in central Tehran. It has been there for over 30 years and is occasionally touched up.

A man tries to make a living exchanging currency outside the Grand Bazaar.

Hossain Hassanzadeh, 37, left, sells vegetables to restaurants with the help of Jalal Alipour, center, who delivers them in central Tehran. Hassanzadeh said that over the last five years, cabbage and tomato prices have doubled and that more people are opting for cheap fast food, like falafel.

A baker sells bread in downtown Tehran. Self-sufficiency in wheat has been one of the major goals of Iranian agricultural policies since the 1979 revolution.

“Death to America” chants are still de rigueur at weekly prayers in Tehran. But after a recent Friday sermon, worshipers streaming out of the Mosalla Mosque signaled growing frustration at corruption among Iran’s political elite.

The Grand Bazaar is packed with shoppers.

A couple look at jewelry in the gold market at the Gran Bazaar.

“The government was not ill-intentioned,” said Ali Rezaei, 36, co-owner of a dried-fruit shop at the Grand Bazaar. “They wanted to give hope to the people after so many years. That’s why people’s expectations were so high, and why they haven’t been met.”