Iran's Rial Hits Record Low Amid US Sanctions and Naval Blockade

The Iranian rial has reached a new record low, falling to 2.688 million rials per US dollar just days after its previous nadir. The currency's decline comes as the country's economy struggles under the weight of US sanctions and a naval blockade.

According to tracking website bon-bast.com, the US dollar was sold at around 2.688 million rials on Saturday, up from 2.632 million on Friday. Another website, alanchand.com, reported 2.695 million rials per dollar.

The central bank has injected $2 billion into state banks to support the currency, which has lost over half its value in the past year. The injection is aimed at stabilizing the rial and making it more accessible for citizens to afford basic necessities.

Mehdi Darabi, an aide to the central bank's governor on foreign exchange affairs, blamed the decline of the rial partly on false predictions by US officials of the collapse of the Iranian economy. He stated that 'the enemy is using this to affect the exchange rate of our currency,' adding that the current fall was temporary.