Iran’s rial hits new low after economic crisis, unrest
Iran’s currency has fallen to a record low, weeks after protests sparked by the depreciation of the rial shook the country, according to Iranian currency tracking sites.
Websites said Tuesday the currency was worth 765,000 riyals to the Australian dollar.
The rial has lost about five percent of its value during the month, according to data from currency tracking site Bonbast.com.
Iran’s newly appointed Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said on Tuesday that “the foreign exchange market is following its natural course.”
Protests that began on December 28 over economic difficulties in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar quickly turned into the worst legitimacy crisis for Iran’s religious establishment as they spread across the country as protesters demanded political change.
Security forces quelled the unrest that eased earlier this month in the bloodiest crackdown since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Amid the protests, the government introduced a subsidy reform that replaced preferential exchange rates for importers with direct transfers to increase Iranians’ purchasing power of basic goods.
Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref defended the policy on Monday, saying “corruption has made preferential rates ineffective in fighting inflation for essential goods, and the new system is aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate.”
Household inflation continued to rise, with annual inflation reaching 60 percent in the period between December 21 and January 19, according to figures released by Iran’s Statistics Center on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Iran’s online economy has been hit by an internet blackout imposed since January 8 and is largely still ongoing.
A government spokesman said on Tuesday that although the government favors free internet access, security considerations necessitate maintaining restrictions.
Iranian officials blamed the recent unrest on “armed terrorists and rebels” linked to Tehran’s enemies, the United States and Israel.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran with intervention, while an Iranian official warned that any attack would be considered an “all-out war”.
According to figures released by US-based human rights group HRANA on Tuesday, the confirmed death toll from the incidents reached 6,126, including 214 security personnel.
Official figures put the death toll at 3,117. Reuters could not independently verify these figures.
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