This is not a vivid picture I'm afraid. Most of Iran's exports are oil and other petrochemical products. The U.S is exempting Iran's trade partners from sanctio

This is not a vivid picture I'm afraid. Most of Iran's exports are oil and other petrochemical products. The U.S is exempting Iran's trade partners from sanctions on the condition that they reduce their imports quarter by quarter. Ultimate goal is to bring petro export to certain countries to zero. Iran also has trouble receiving payment for its oil. India, for example, used to have a deal in place (probably still does), that it would only pay Iran in Rupees. Your choice of cancer medicine is limited when you can only spend in Rupees, and so is your purchasing power. And after all, this is just oil. It's sold by the government, and its proceeds are used for essential government functions, such as keeping the local currency afloat (which is now about 1/3 of its value compared to last year). Oil proceeds do not help the private sector in trade. An Iranian software company for example, does not export oil.