Iran’s currency drops to record low against dollar as tensions soar

Iran’s currency has dropped to a record 1,500,000 rials to the US dollar, according to Iranian currency-tracking websites, weeks after protests sparked by the rial’s dwindling value rocked the country. Exchange shops in Tehran offered the record-low rate, worsening hardship for many after decades of economic mismanagement and sanctions. Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said the foreign exchange market was following its natural course. The dip follows shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar shutting stores in protest against the falling rial, hyperinflation and a government decision to end certain food and fuel subsidies. Demonstrations that began on December 28 spread nationwide, with protesters demanding political change and met by a violent crackdown and an extensive internet blackout. Iran’s government said at least 3,117 people were killed in the unrest, while the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency put the death toll for protesters at 5,777. State media blamed external forces for escalating the protests. Economic instability has been fuelled by spiralling tensions with the US and Israel; US President Donald Trump said the situation was “in flux” after ordering a "big armada" to the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying destroyers entered US Central Command’s area of responsibility, a significant escalation in posture near Iran. Two Iranian-aligned armed groups signalled willingness to launch new attacks, and top Iranian military figures reiterated readiness to engage in another war with Israel and the US if attacked. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promised a “comprehensive and regret-inducing response.”