Overview
- The currency hit about 1.8–1.81 million rials per dollar on Wednesday in open-market quotes after a two‑day slide of nearly 15 percent reported by ISNA.
- After an April 8 ceasefire eased active fighting, pent‑up demand for dollars rushed into the market as the U.S. Navy kept blocking shipments and hard‑currency inflows.
- U.S. and Israeli strikes damaged ports and major exporters, and Tehran paused some steel and petrochemical shipments, cutting key sources of foreign cash.
- Iran’s central bank reported 65.8 percent year‑on‑year inflation for March 20 to April 20, and prices for milk, bread, rice, oil, and other basics have been climbing in recent weeks.
- Authorities run multiple exchange rates, revived subsidized dollar sales, allocated $1 billion to buy food, and curbed some exports, yet the squeeze has raised fears of renewed unrest after January’s protests.