By Published On: April 4, 2023Categories: NEWS
The Iranian rial has once again experienced a sharp decline during the first week of the Persian New Year, 1402, which began on March 21. Last week, the rial was being exchanged at 520,000 against the dollar, and this ongoing fluctuation reflects the bleak state of the Iranian economy.

The Iranian rial has once again experienced a sharp decline during the first week of the Persian New Year, 1402, which began on March 21. Last week, the rial was being exchanged at 520,000 against the dollar, and this ongoing fluctuation reflects the bleak state of the Iranian economy.

 

From January 2023 to March, the dollar rate went from 300,000 rials to 600,000. It dropped to 450,000 a few weeks before Nowruz and once again reached 530,000 rials last week. This instability, even according to officials and state-affiliated experts, has no economic or financial rationale.

On February 27, the clerical regime’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, desperately tried to show that he was not aware of the reason behind the market fluctuations. “How did the dollar exchange rate increase on Mabath [Prophet Muhammad’s first revelation], when the markets were closed?” he said. Due to the severity of the crisis, some state media outlets and experts acknowledged some aspects of the reality while warning authorities about its social consequences.

On March 2, the state-run Tasnim News Agency wrote about the “hidden aspects” of “determining the exchange rate in Iran’s economy.” “Only a comprehensive look at all its dimensions can explain the reason for the recent increase in the dollar price, which, due to the complexity and ambiguity of Iran’s economy, has no clear explanation for it,” Tasnim wrote.

 

 

Unlike some others who blame the regime’s Central Bank, Mahmoud Jamsaz, a state-affiliated economist, laid the blame on Raisi’s government and the “defective corrupt structure of the political economy,” adding that the “Central Bank is just a part of this corrupt cycle.”

On March 9, the state-run Asia News got closer to the reality, describing the “budget deficit” of Raisi’s government as “one of the main and effective factors about the country’s exchange rate.” Besides playing with the exchange market, the clerical regime continues printing banknotes to compensate for its budget deficit. Thus, by increasing liquidity and due to Iran’s low production rate, inflation rises.

In a nutshell, unlike what the ruling theocracy and its pundits try to imply, it is the regime’s disastrous economic policies, not sanctions, that are causing the rising living costs, skyrocketing prices of consumer goods, inflation hovering around 70%, and more people going under the poverty line.

 

 

The Iranian people are suffering from the regime’s economic policies, and the situation is only getting worse. With no clear solutions in sight, it is unclear how much longer the Iranian economy can continue to withstand the ongoing crisis.

 

 

 

 


MEK Iran (follow us on Twitter and Facebook), Maryam Rajavi’s on her siteTwitter & Facebook, NCRI  (Twitter & Facebook), and People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – MEK IRAN – YouTub

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!