Aftershocks of Failed Vienna Negotiations; Iran’s Rial Value Reaches ‘Lowest Point in History’
With diminishing hopes regarding the outcome of negotiations to revive the JCPOA in Vienna, the value of Iran’s rial has reached its lowest level ever.
On Sunday, one U.S. dollar was traded for the first time in history at 30,450 tomans in Iran’s open currency market.
According to the Bottleneck website, which reports currency exchange rates in Iran, one British pound was also traded at 40,320 tomans.
While the administration of Hassan Rouhani previously held the record for the rial’s depreciation, under Ibrahim Raisi’s government, the value of Iran’s currency unit has reached its lowest level.
The decline in the rial’s value leads to a decrease in consumers’ purchasing power and an increase in the prices of imported goods.
The seventh round of negotiations to revive the JCPOA began on Monday, November 29 in Vienna, Austria’s capital, and ended on Friday. Anthony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, said on Friday in an exclusive interview with Reuters that it does not appear that Iran is serious about doing what is necessary to return to mutual compliance with the JCPOA.
A senior Foreign Ministry official also announced on Saturday to journalists the possibility of imposing additional sanctions if the nuclear agreement is abandoned by Iran.
Previously, Kamal Seyed-Alī, former deputy for currency affairs at Iran’s Central Bank, cited the prolongation of nuclear negotiations to revive the JCPOA as the most important factor in raising currency prices in Iran and said: “If nothing happens with the JCPOA and today’s conditions continue, the dollar rate could reach above 30,000 tomans, but if the JCPOA is revived and we have the ability to sell 2.5 million barrels of oil and the level of oil revenues increases, we will not have a problem managing the country’s currency.”
The increase in the dollar’s price in Iran usually has a negative impact on the prices of other goods and services in the country and raises the general price level. Currently, the inflation rate in Iran is around 45 percent.
Source: Voice of America
