Here’s a comforting message on a Sunday morning that follows Saturday night’s Iranian attack on Israel: 1 Iranian Rial now equals 0.000090 Shekel. Put another way: it takes 600,000 rials to get one US dollar, meaning the rial has lost 30% of its value in one week. Iran’s annual inflation rate has surpassed 50%, food prices are soaring, and Iranians are exchanging their money for gold.
As IranWire put it so eloquently: “The combination of a weakening currency, rising tensions, and a potential trade imbalance threatens to create significant economic hardship for the Iranian people.”
At the same time, Oil prices have reached their highest mark since October 7, with Benchmark Brent crude rising to $92 a barrel, after trading at $70 a barrel in January. But oil prices are not expected to go above $100 any time soon, and Iran will not be able to support its failing economy with the oil windfall.
