Iran’s currency, the rial, fell to a new historic low on Saturday amid popular protests, strikes and the government’s determination to use force against all opposition.
The crashed rial fell to a low of 370,000 against the US dollar, down almost 50% in 15 months. It was trading at 280,000 in August 2021 When the current hardline president Ebrahim Raisi was elected.
Iran has been rocked by nationwide anti-government protests since September after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was killed in police custody. She was arrested for violating the country’s mandatory hijab rules. rice field.
Iran’s currency began to lose most of its value in 2018, when the US withdrew from the nuclear deal known as the JCPOA and imposed devastating economic sanctions. Since then, the currency has fallen more than 10 times he against the dollar.
The Islamic Republic has been able to partially evade sanctions by exporting illegal oil to China at discounted prices, but the amount of about 1 million barrels per day is mostly dependent on oil export revenues. is not enough to sustain an economy that is doing well.
Negotiations with the Biden administration for a new nuclear deal have ended in failure.
A devaluation of the real rial would further exacerbate annual inflation, which has already reached 50%, and the ensuing fiscal pressure on the public could deepen anti-government resentment and intensify protests. I have.
