Iran’s rial fell to a fresh record low on Tuesday on unofficial markets, with the US dollar quoted at about 1.47 million rials as authorities seek to defuse public anger over soaring prices.
The euro was trading around 1.72 million rials and the pound at about 19.94 million rials, traders said.
The latest slide follows sharp swings since late December, when the currency’s plunge helped trigger protests in Tehran and other cities that have increasingly taken on a broader political edge.
The government has floated new relief measures after moving to curb access to subsidized foreign exchange used for importing basic goods, a system critics say has fueled distortions and rent-seeking while failing to contain inflation.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration has signaled it will shift support toward households, including a proposed monthly electronic credit or coupon scheme aimed at cushioning low-income families from price rises as the subsidy regime is rolled back.
Iran’s economy has been hit by years of sanctions and chronic inflation, and many Iranians turn to hard currency and gold as stores of value during bouts of political and economic uncertainty.
