Rial Plunges as $2 Billion Intervention Fails to Halt Iran's Economic Slide

Iran's currency woes continue to worsen as the rial slumps to new lows. The central bank announced it would inject up to $2 billion into the market, but so far, this move has failed to stem the decline. State banks began selling dollars on Saturday, with prices reaching 2.688 million rials per dollar, according to free-market tracking website bon-bast.com.

The US sanctions and naval blockade are taking a heavy toll on the economy, causing inflation to soar above 70%. Many Iranians are turning to safe-haven assets like dollars, other hard currencies, or gold in an attempt to preserve their savings. Mehdi Darabi, an aide to the central bank's governor on foreign exchange affairs, attributed some of the decline to false predictions by US officials about the collapse of the Iranian economy.