Iranian rial nears 2 million per US dollar amid economic collapse

The Iranian rial is experiencing a dramatic collapse, with the US dollar approaching the 2 million rial threshold on unregulated street markets. This milestone translates to approximately 200,000 tomans per dollar. The currency has lost nearly half its value against the dollar since the beginning of the year, driven by severe inflation and a shortage of foreign exchange.

Inflationary pressures are acute, with consumer prices rising by 87.9% over the past year and food inflation reaching 128%. This economic instability is forcing citizens to move savings into hard currencies, gold, or physical assets to preserve purchasing power.

The depreciation is attributed to several compounding factors, including ongoing US sanctions that restrict oil exports and access to global financial systems, regional military conflicts, and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz that have choked off foreign exchange inflows. While the Iranian parliament previously passed a plan to remove four zeros from the rial to simplify transactions, lawmakers have noted that such a reform does not address the underlying loss of the currency's actual purchasing power.