As the sharp upward trend in currency and gold prices in Iran continues, the price of each new-design gold coin, known as the “Emami,” approached the unprecedented level of 1.69 billion rials (approximately 1,214 dollars), while the dollar rate in the open market surpassed 1.44 million rials.
On Sunday, December 28, each British pound was traded at around 1.94 million rials, and each euro at more than 1.69 million rials.
This comes as on December 27; the price of each new-design gold coin was 1.57 billion rials and each U.S. dollar was 1.37 million rials.
In recent months, runaway inflation and the rise in foreign currency exchange rates have intensified concerns over the deterioration of Iran’s economic situation.
This trend has intensified following the return of United Nations sanctions and the Iranian regime officials’ insistence on continuing the nuclear program.
Over the past year, the prices of food items in Iran have increased by an average of more than 66%.
On December 26, Hossein Sammsami, a member of the economic commission of the Iranian regime’s parliament, stated that since the return of U.S. sanctions against the Iranian regime in 2018, 93% of the foreign currency earned from exports carried out by private individuals has not returned to the country.
Citizens protest the rise in gold and currency prices
In recent days, citizens on social media have criticized severe inflation and the decline in their purchasing power to afford daily food items, holding the Iranian regime’s government and Ali Khamenei personally as the main parties responsible for the situation.
While the severity of financial and economic crises in Iran continues to rise, Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of the Iranian regime, submitted the 2026 budget bill to parliament on December 23.
The government’s plan to increase salaries by 20% without regard to severe inflation has sparked widespread negative reactions.
On the other hand, the Iranian regime’s confrontation with the West and the foreign policy pursued by Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran’s regime, over at least the past three decades have imposed heavy costs on citizens, with sanctions paralyzing a significant portion of the country’s economy.
Nevertheless, Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of the Iranian regime, on December 26 acknowledged the impact of sanctions on the country’s economic disorder but described these conditions as a factor for the “independence” and “maturity” of the defense and missile industries, saying: “Sanctions caused us to move toward distancing ourselves from a single-axis, oil-based economy.”
Araghchi had also told a gathering of economic actors on December 25: “We should accept that sanctions exist and accept that it is possible to live with sanctions… I know very well what sanctions mean and what their costs are. I know their problems, and I also know their blessings.”
His remarks about the “blessings” of international sanctions have triggered critical reactions in recent days.
