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Amid Persian New Year celebrations, Iran’s currency plummeted to an all-time low of 613,500 rials per dollar on March 24th.
On the last working day before the March 18th holiday, it was 590,000 rials per dollar.
The exchange rate significantly affects other markets, including housing and rentals.
Many Iranians have seen their life savings evaporate as the value of the local currency has fallen. Today, it retains only about one-twentieth of its value compared to 2015 when Iran signed a nuclear agreement with world powers.
Since then, it has fallen from 32,000 rials per dollar to hundreds of thousands of rials. It briefly hit a low of 600,000 rials per dollar in February 2023 and has not fallen below 439,000 rials.
Relations between Iran and the West worsened after Iran abandoned a deal to halt its nuclear program and access frozen funds and other benefits during the Donald Trump administration.
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President Joe Biden has expressed willingness to restart nuclear negotiations with Iran, but formal talks broke in August 2022.
Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, nuclear diplomacy with Iran has become more complicated. Iran is further straining relations with Western countries by supplying armed drones used in the invasion of Ukraine to Russia.
Past economic hardships have contributed to anger toward the government, but many Iranians have had to focus more on food issues than on isolated political activities opposing the regime.
The rial’s record low comes less than a month after hardline politicians took the lead following parliamentary elections that recorded the lowest voter turnout since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
On the other hand, Iran’s government statistics center reported an inflation rate of 42.5% in February 2024, but the central bank reported it as over 46%, with no explanation for the discrepancy.
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