Iranian rial falls to all-time low against US dollar

The Iranian rial has fallen below the one million rial level to the dollar, a key barrier for the Iranian currency, as traders and investors see no imminent end to US sanctions as Trump continues to apply intense pressure on Tehran.

Earlier this month, Trump said he sent a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying that Tehran’s nuclear program can be dealt with militarily or negotiated.

Khamenei has rejected negotiations with the US, describing them as “deceptive.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last week that negotiations with Washington are impossible unless its policy changes.

Bonbast, a website that tracks Iranian currency, showed the rial falling to a record low of 1,039,000 rials to the dollar on Tuesday, March 25.

This represents a decline of more than half the value of the currency, which has been at half its value since President Masoud Pezeshkian took office last year. The Iranian rial was trading at around 55,000 rials to the dollar in 2018, before the first Trump administration reimposed US sanctions aimed at stifling Iranian oil exports and restricting its access to foreign currency, in an attempt to force Tehran to return to the negotiating table.

Since Trump’s return to the White House, Washington has imposed four new rounds of sanctions on Iranian oil sales.