DUBAI (Reuters): Iran’s currency continued its decline on Saturday, hitting a recent all-time low against the U.S. dollar amid uncertainty over Donald Trump’s imminent arrival at the White House and tensions with the West over Tehran’s nuclear program.
According to Bonbast.com, which reports exchange rates, the rial fell to 756,000 per dollar on Saturday in the unofficial market, compared to 741,500 on Friday. Bazar360.com reported that the dollar was sold for about 755,000 rials.
Facing an official inflation rate of around 35%, Iranians looking for a protected haven for their savings are buying dollars, other demanding currencies, gold or cryptocurrencies, suggesting further difficulties for the rial.
The dollar has gained against the rial since currencies traded at around 690,000 rials in early November amid concerns that Trump will reimpose his “maximum pressure” policy on Iran after his inauguration in January with tougher sanctions and authorize Israel to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran’s currency fell again after the board of the UN nuclear agency IAEA adopted a resolution proposed by Europe against Tehran – increasing the risk of recent sanctions – and after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, a long-time ally of the Islamic Republic.
In 2018, Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal reached by his predecessor Barack Obama in 2015 and reimposed US-eased economic sanctions on Iran. The agreement narrow Iran’s ability to enrich uranium, a process that can produce fissile material for a nuclear weapon.
Since sanctions were reimposed in 2018, the Iranian rial has lost more than 90% of its value.
