With the increase in the exchange rate of the US dollar in the Iranian currency market to over 650,000 rials and the emergence of a new wave of concerns among the public and economic activists, critics of the government considered the current situation as the result of “foolishness,” while defenders of the government claimed that the exchange rate would decrease again.
Mehrad Abad, a member of the Delegation of the Chamber of Commerce of Iran, told the regime’s ILNA news agency that what has caused the currency crisis and market turmoil we are currently facing is “not due to informing people about them but rather the result of foolishness” and “rooted in the nature of our economy.”
This economic activist believes that the main factor has been the weak and ineffective budgeting of governments, and sanctions have created many problems.
According to this member of the Chamber of Commerce, attributing problems to enemies is “scapegoating.”
On the other hand, Youssef Hosseini, the head of the Currency Committee of the Iranian regime’s Chamber of Commerce, has taken a defensive stance in support of the government and the policies of the regime’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, stating that by adhering to Khamenei’s recommendations, the country’s economy, especially various markets including the currency market, can be well controlled, and perhaps the dollar price may return to around 600,000 rials or even lower.
Youssef Hosseini emphasized that regional events and conflicts can have an impact on Iran’s economy and “the enemy does not hesitate to make any effort to complete its destructive operations in this area.”
The state-run Etemad newspaper also quoted Ramin Pouladrag, a member of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, as saying that the only reason for the limited increase in the dollar price is political and regional events that “will surely be controllable and diminishable.”
This economic activist also attributed fluctuations to the “enemy,” a matter that media analysts relate to the report of the Kayhan newspaper and the connection of fluctuations to the media and the request to deal with them.
The regime’s Kayhan daily wrote in a report, “In a situation where the country’s economy is rising from the ground after heavy blows in the 2010s, some domestic media outlets, along with terrorist Zionists, are disrupting the mental security of society and fueling inflationary expectations to ground the country’s economy again.”
This has led some analysts to suggest that some media outlets have moved beyond currency fluctuations and some others have taken on the role of defending the government and regime. Also, security concerns have led economic activists’ statements to be in line with the statements of Iranian regime officials.
According to reports, the exchange rate has been on an upward trend since February 2024, reaching from 500,000 rials to 610,000 rials by the end of March 2024.
The slow and steady increase in prices continued until Israel’s attack on the Revolutionary Guards’ headquarters in Damascus, where the exchange rate exceeded 650,000 rials.
