Iranian rial continues slide, hits new low

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iran’s rial plunged to a new low against the US dollar as the country’s economy continues to weaken in anticipation of sanctions on oil exports due in November.

According to Bonbast, a website that tracks Iran’s unofficial foreign note exchange market, the dollar was being sold for 130,000 rials, meaning the currency has lost 70 percent of its value in the past year.

The rial’s plummet came after the Trump administration re-imposed sanctions on Iran—itself already in a dire economic situation.

The more critical sanctions, however, are set to take effect on Nov. 5 and will include Iran’s oil, financial, and shipping sectors.

In the months after the US abandoned the nuclear accord, the downward trend of the country’s finances led to sporadic protests by merchants, workers, and store owners.

Protests turned political in some places with slogans unsympathetic to the regime and on occasion calling for its end entirely.

The demonstrations, though, are not new. Iranians have been intermittently expressing their grievances with the regime with little success regarding its change in behavior.

The outlook for Iran’s financial security has grown even dimmer as members of parliament continue to sack ministers and high-ranking officials in President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet.

On Sunday, lawmakers impeached the Minister of Finance, Masoud Karbasian. The decision came after both Minister of Labor and director of the central bank were removed from their positions.

Seeking solutions, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei demands Rouhani and his cabinet to work around the clock and address the economic problems, among them the surging unemployment.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany