Aftershocks of the inconclusive Vienna talks; the value of the Iranian rial fell to "the lowest level in history"
With hopes for the outcome of the JCPOA revival talks in Vienna dwindling, the value of the Iranian rial has reached its lowest level.
On Sunday, each US dollar traded for 30,450 Tomans in Iran's free foreign exchange market for the first time in history.
According to the Bonbast website, which reports currency exchange rates in Iran, each British pound was traded at 40,320 Tomans.
While Hassan Rouhani's government previously held the record for the fall in the value of the rial, under Ebrahim Raisi's government, the value of the Iranian currency has reached its lowest level.
The devaluation of the rial leads to a decrease in consumers' purchasing power and an increase in the price of imported goods.
The seventh round of talks to revive the JCPOA began on Monday, December 29, in the Austrian capital Vienna, and ended on Friday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an exclusive interview with Reuters on Friday that Iran does not appear to be serious about doing what is necessary to return to mutual compliance with the JCPOA.
A senior Foreign Ministry official also told reporters on Saturday that further sanctions may be imposed if Iran abandons the nuclear deal.
Previously, Kamal Seyed Ali, former deputy foreign exchange director of the Central Bank of Iran, had stated that the prolongation of the nuclear negotiations process to revive the JCPOA agreement was the most important factor in the increase in the price of the currency in Iran, saying: "If nothing happens in the JCPOA and the current conditions continue, the dollar rate will reach above 30,000 tomans, but if the JCPOA is revived and we have the possibility of selling two and a half million barrels of oil and the amount of oil revenues increases, we will not have a problem in managing the country's currency."
The rise in the price of the dollar in Iran usually negatively affects the prices of other goods and services in the country, raising the general level of prices. Currently, the inflation rate in Iran is around 45 percent.
Source: Voice of America
