TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran's currency fell to an all-time low Sunday, plunging to $613,500 to the dollar, as Iranians celebrated the Persian New Year.
On Sunday, people were trying to exchange riyals for foreign currency at currency exchange shops on Tehran's main hub, Ferdowsi Street, but most were closed due to the Nowruz holiday from March 20 to April 2.
Mohsen, 32, an employee at one of the exchange offices, said holidays are a contributing factor to low prices. “Prices are not real and the demand to buy dollars is very high, but at a currency exchange… There are only a few,” he said. Open. ” He and other Iranians spoke on condition that their last names not be used because speaking to foreign media about the country's economic struggles could lead to repercussions.
A two-week vacation is an opportunity to travel abroad, increasing demand for US dollars and euros.
Her father, Mojtaba, 49, was shocked. “While the whole country is on holiday, the Rial has fallen by 5% compared to the past 6 days!”
Wife Niloufar, 28, and husband Behzad, 30, said they had booked a week-long tour of Turkey at a discounted rate, but were now considering spending as much as a full-price tour.
Exchange rates have a significant impact on other markets such as housing and rentals.
On March 18, the last business day before the holiday, the price was 590,000 to the dollar.
Many Iranians have seen their savings evaporate as the local currency depreciates. Its value is now about 1/20th what it was in 2015, when Iran signed a nuclear deal with world powers.
Since then, it has fallen from 32,000 rials to the dollar to hundreds of thousands of rials. It briefly reached a low of 600,000 reais to the dollar in February 2023, but has not risen above 439,000 reais since then.
The Government Statistics Center puts the country's inflation rate at 42.5% in February 2024, while the central bank puts it at over 46%. There is no explanation for this discrepancy.
Relations between Iran and the West have deteriorated to an unusual degree since then-President Donald Trump abandoned a deal that called for the country to halt its nuclear program in exchange for access to frozen funds and other benefits. There is. President Joe Biden has said he is willing to re-enter the nuclear deal with Iran, but formal negotiations to find a roadmap to restart the deal collapsed in August 2022. Meanwhile, tensions in the Middle East have increased significantly, making it difficult to restart the nuclear deal. Diplomacy with Iran becomes even more complicated. Iran provided Russia with the armed drones used in the invasion of Ukraine, further angering Western powers.
The dire economic situation has previously contributed to widespread anger against the government, but amid a fierce crackdown on opposition, many Iranians are choosing to put food on the table rather than engage in risky political activities. I was forced to concentrate on arranging them.
The rial's record low was recorded less than a month after parliamentary elections, which saw the lowest turnout since the 1979 Islamic revolution, when hardline politicians dominated the results.
For the past two decades, hard-liners have dominated Congress, where chants of “Death to America” have often been heard.
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