Iran’s rial currency hits new record low as US prepares to announce more sanctions

Iran’s rial currency experienced a record low on Monday as the United States prepared to announce more sanctions, which the regime described as an "economic D-Day." These new sanctions aimed to further pressure an economy already weakened by previous sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade. The Iranian rial plummeted to 2.02 million per U.S. dollar upon trading opening on informal currency markets, while the official Central Bank rate was around 1.5 million rial to the dollar. The informal rate is what most Iranians pay.

The rial had already been under pressure before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, with double-digit inflation and negative growth. However, the past six months of war have caused even greater damage to the economy. Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's inability to secure concessions from Iran, the country maintained control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway that allows a fifth of the world's traded oil to pass freely.

Iran and Oman, the country opposite the strait, are reportedly nearing an agreement for joint management of the waterway, with ships entering the Persian Gulf through an Iranian-controlled route and exiting through a route controlled by Oman.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed to impose even stronger sanctions than those already in place, including secondary sanctions on countries that continue to engage in business with Iran. Bessent stated, "President Trump decimated Iran’s economy to a point where the rial has never been weaker and inflation has rarely been higher." Iran's hard-line leader, Mohsen Rezaei, warned that any country supporting the new American economic measures would be seen as an "act of war."