When traders opened on Saturday, the exchange rate fell to 1,043,000 ri.
Iran’s rial currency has hit a record record against the US dollar amid growing tensions between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s nuclear program.
Exchange rates plummeted to a real of over a million at Persian New Year’s festival as currency stores closed and informal trading took place only on the streets, putting even more pressure on the market.
Prices fell to another $1,043,000 when traders resumed work on Saturday. Some traders in Tehran have turned off electronic signs indicating their progress rate as uncertainty is looming about how much the rial will decrease.
Iran’s economy is particularly severely affected by international sanctions, especially after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdraws the United States from nuclear deals with Tehran’s world powers in 2018.
After Trump returned to the White House for a second term in January, he resumed a “maximum pressure” campaign targeting the so-called “maximum pressure” campaign with sanctions, chasing after companies trading Iranian crude oil again, including those selling at discounted prices in China.
Trump wrote to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he was about to jump in direct talks between Tehran and Washington. So far, Iran has maintained willingness to hold indirect consultations.
Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that his country is willing to speak with the United States without clarifying whether Tehran will take part in the in-person meetings.
“Today, America is not only a humiliating Iran, but also a world,” Pezeschkian added with clear references to recent policies adopted by Trump, including imposing tariffs on imports.
“What is the point of threat if negotiation is necessary?” he said.
For decades, US-led Western countries have accused Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons. Iran rejects these allegations, claiming that its nuclear activities exist only for private purposes.
In 2015, the country reached groundbreaking deals with the United Nations Security Council standing committees, namely the United States, France, China, Russia, the UK and Germany, regulating nuclear activities.
In 2018, during Trump’s first term, Washington withdrew from the agreement and reinstated sanctions. In response, Iran has repeatedly made its contractual commitments and accelerated its nuclear program.
On Monday, Ali Larijani, the close adviser to the Supreme Leader, warned that Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons, but that “they have no choice” if an attack occurs on the country.