Hossein Raghfar, an economist close to the Iranian regime, described Iran’s economic situation as “very unfavorable” and warned that the continued policy of increasing the exchange rate could push the country’s economy toward hyperinflation.
Speaking on Saturday in an interview with the state-run ILNA news agency, Raghfar responded to recent remarks by Masoud Nili, an economist close to the Iranian regime, who said Iran is at the “station before hyperinflation.” Raghfar said the country’s economy has not yet entered the hyperinflation stage, but there are worrying signs that the crisis is intensifying.
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Referring to the sharp rise in market prices, he said many goods have become more than 100% more expensive over the past few months. However, from a scientific perspective, hyperinflation occurs when the monthly inflation rate reaches about 40% to 50%, a situation that, according to him, Iran’s economy has not yet reached.
The university professor identified the government’s exchange-rate policies as one of the main factors worsening the economic crisis and stressed that if the continuous increase in the exchange rate persists, it could pave the way for Iran’s economy to enter the hyperinflation stage.
Raghfar’s remarks come as the continuous increase in the prices of goods and services has placed growing pressure on citizens’ livelihoods and sharply reduced the purchasing power of a large share of households. At the same time, officials of the Iranian regime, instead of presenting an effective plan to curb inflation and stabilize the market, have primarily emphasized the need for the public to show “resilience” in the face of economic hardships.
It should be recalled that Masoud Nili, a regime-affiliated economist and faculty member at the Sharif University of Technology’s School of Management and Economics, previously warned that Iran’s economy has entered what he described as the “station before hyperinflation.” He said the country’s economy has moved beyond chronic inflation and is now facing extremely high and severe inflation, a situation that, if left unchecked, could lead to hyperinflation.
Speaking on Monday, July 20, 2026, at the conference titled “Iran Economy Outlook 2026,” Nili stressed that Iran’s economy now stands between chronic inflation and hyperinflation. According to him, the inflation the Iranian people are struggling with today is no longer ordinary or merely chronic inflation, but has entered a phase of extremely high inflation.
