Syed Zafar Mehdi
03 November 2022•Update: 03 November 2022
TEHRAN, Iran
Iran’s national currency rial has plummeted to an all-time low against the US dollar amid widespread protests in recent weeks and the nuclear deal standoff.
The stuttering rial traded at 349,200 to the greenback on the Bonbast foreign exchange website on Thursday for the first time in the country's history, with foreign currencies fiercely rallying against it.
In early September, the rial was trading at 298,200 to the US dollar, losing significant value amid countrywide protests and unrest in the wake of the death of a young Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.
The country has been rocked by widespread protests that first erupted in Amini's hometown in the western Kurdistan province before spreading to other cities, including Tehran, causing hundreds of casualties.
The tragic incident sparked fresh tensions between Iran and the US, with the Joe Biden administration announcing fresh sanctions against Iranian officials and entities.
The weakening of Iran's currency also came amid a stalemate over the 2015 nuclear deal as indirect talks between Tehran and Washington remained stalled since August over key sticking points, including a probe into uranium traces at three "undeclared" nuclear sites in Iran.
Iran's currency has seen a ten-fold devaluation since 2015 when the nuclear accord was signed between Iran and the world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
At the time, the rial traded at 35,000 per dollar. The last time rial breached the threshold of 330,000 was in June this year.
While the official rate set by the state-run bank continues to remain around 42,000, the free market rate has dramatically surged over the years, setting new records.
The rapid fall in the rial's value has pushed inflation higher in the sanctions-battered country with prices of basic commodities and housing hitting astronomical levels.
Forex market analysts believe the currency will plunge further against the US dollar and other foreign currencies amid growing tensions between Tehran and Washington over protests in Iran and the nuclear deal stalemate.
