Hamas and Israel War and 'Severe Risk Increase' in Iran; Tehran Stock Market Plummets, Dollar Surges Again

On the second day of the war between Israel and Hamas militants, a 'terrorist' group supported by the Islamic Republic, the Tehran Stock Exchange's main index on Sunday, October 8, experienced a sharp decline, dropping by 'approximately 51,000 points' to '2 million and 1,000 points.' According to ISNA news agency, 'Foolad Mobarakeh Isfahan, Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries, Isfahan Oil Refining Company, Social Security Investment Company, Persian Gulf Oil and Gas Development, Bandar Abbas Oil Refining Company, and Mapna Group' were among the most influential symbols in the stock market on Sunday, all of which showed a downward trend. Additionally, the overall index of the 'Over-the-Counter Market' also fell by '659 points' to '25,025 points,' with companies such as 'Arya Sasol Polymer, Sepehr Export Financial Investment, Iran Khodro Diesel, Arman Electronics Selection Group, Pasargad Insurance, Hormozgan Steel South, and Saba Tamin Investment' having the most significant impact on the OTC index, all of which also showed negative trends. Siamak Ghazemi, an economist, described the stock market's decline as 'a sign of a severe increase in systemic risk in Iran' and wrote on the 'X' messaging platform: 'Hamas's attack on Israel and the onset of a new war is the most significant systemic risk for the Iranian economy and perhaps the entire Middle East in 2023.' Following the outbreak of war between Israel and Palestinian armed groups supported by the Islamic Republic, the currency market in Iran began to rise, with the price of one US dollar reaching 52,250 tomans at the time of this report. The dollar rate in Iran on October 8, 1402 (Persian calendar) was reported to have been 51,500 tomans just hours earlier. According to domestic news sources, the price of each Bahar Azadi gold coin also rose from around '28 million tomans' to over '30 million tomans' in the free market for gold and coins in Tehran. The dollar price in the Iranian market surpassed 51,000 tomans, having fluctuated around 49,000 tomans in recent months, despite government officials promising a downward trend in prices in the second half of the year. With the dollar price exceeding 51,000 tomans, a price record for the past four months was also broken. Also see: The psychological impact of the war in Israel on the currency market; the dollar surpassed 51,000 tomans. Live blog: G7 foreign ministers welcome the cessation of hostilities; all hostages should be released unconditionally. Continued support from Islamic Republic officials for Hamas's terrorist attacks on Israel. Workers' strike at the Abadan petrochemical plant and Razi company; temporary contract employees of the Ministry of Oil protested. Qatar's ambitious plans to develop extraction from the world's largest gas field; Iran remains entangled in imbalance. Food crisis in Iran; the Minister of Agriculture proposed the formation of a 'Supreme Food Security Council.' A warning from a reformist party to Ebrahim Raisi regarding the 'erosion of legitimacy' of the Islamic Republic.