US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran’s currency has fallen to a record low amid mounting economic pressure and the US blocking Iran’s oil exports and shipping lanes.
“Given the shutdown of their oil industry and the collapse of their currency, it is long past time for the Iranian regime to recognise that the people of Iran deserve much better than what the ruin of the current regime has to offer,” Bessent wrote on social media X.
“The Iranian people deserve a new era that the corrupt and chaotic Iranian regime cannot provide,” he added.
On 29 April, the exchange rate of Iran’s national currency, the rial, fell to a new low of 1.81 million to the US dollar before rising again the next day. According to Iranian media, the value of the rial has fallen by nearly 15 per cent in recent days.
On 8 April, Iran and the US agreed on a ceasefire, although on 13 April Washington stepped up economic pressure by imposing a blockade, making it difficult for Tehran to earn hard currency through exports.
Annual inflation, which was above 40 per cent before the war, rose to 50 per cent as of April 4, according to Iran’s Central Bank.
Iranians say prices of essential commodities such as rice, eggs and chicken have risen significantly since the conflict began.
Rising inflation was the catalyst for nationwide protests that erupted in January and have become one of the biggest threats to the Iranian regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Authorities responded by cracking down on demonstrations, resulting in thousands of deaths, according to human rights organisations.
Iran has also sought to inflict significant economic damage on the US and its allies. It responded to US and Israeli airstrikes by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for the world’s oil and gas supplies, to international shipping. The move shook international energy markets and damaged the world economy.