Iranian Rial Crashes as US Announces New Sanctions
The Iranian rial hit a new record low on August 24, 2026, as Washington prepares to announce additional sanctions. The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the US dollar at trading opening, with the market rate significantly higher than the official Central Bank rate of around 1.5 million rial to the dollar.
The currency has been under pressure since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, with inflation reaching double-digit levels and GDP forecasted to contract more than 5%. The war has exacerbated economic woes, with prices for daily staples such as rice increasing by over 60% and beef prices rising more than 150%.
Despite economic pressure, the Iranian regime retains a strategic advantage: its attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have severely impacted global trade. Iran is now demanding that ships pay to transit through the waterway, which carries nearly a fifth of the world's traded oil.