Turmoil in Iran's Currency Market; US Dollar Surpasses 56,000 Tomans

Turmoil in Iran's currency market continues, with the price of each US dollar briefly surpassing 56,000 tomans on Thursday before returning to the 55,000 tomans range. Reports indicate that the price of each US dollar reached 56,250 tomans at noon on Thursday; each euro also reached 61,180 tomans and each British pound hit 71,500 tomans. An analysis of currency prices shows that the pound has broken its historical record, reaching the highest rate in Iran's economic history. Observers believe that increasing tensions in the region and the destructive role of the Islamic Republic in exacerbating unrest, political developments in the preliminary elections in the United States, as well as restrictions imposed by Iraq on currency transactions with Iran, alongside internal economic factors, are among the reasons for the rising currency prices in Iran. The rates of gold, the dollar, and other foreign currencies in Iran's free market also faced severe hourly increases on Wednesday, February 4. On Wednesday, the dollar reached 55,700 tomans, and each full coin known as the 'Imami plan' was sold for 32 million 900 thousand tomans. According to the newspaper 'Jahan San'at', Vahid Shaghaghi Shahr, an economist in Iran, emphasized that 'there is no management in the capital market' and 'this market is completely abandoned.' According to this economist, 'each ministry and every agency continuously issues directives and also changes them.' Shaghaghi Shahr also stressed that 'in the issued resolutions, key rates and variables affecting the capital market are constantly manipulated, creating confusion,' and 'in this situation, shareholders buy shares, but later find that a sudden resolution negatively impacts the profitability of businesses.' Additionally, Siamak Ghazemi, an economic expert in Iran, referred to the range of fluctuations in coin transactions, attributing it to 'arrest and detention policies' and 'disrupting markets by orders,' stating on social media that this trend 'serves no purpose other than directing people's investments to informal and cash markets,' and that officials 'have never thought about the root causes except for closing and restricting.' The rising wave of gold and currency prices in Iran comes amid ongoing livelihood protests in various cities. Jamshid Damouei, an economist, pointed to 'fabricated numbers' in the 1403 budget bill of the Islamic Republic, telling the Persian section of Voice of America that a 'larger inflation' should be expected in Iran. Jamshid Asadi, another economist, also told Voice of America that the Islamic Republic's economy has collapsed, and the reason it has not yet fallen apart is that no alternative has emerged. The consequences of risky political and military behaviors; the former head of the Central Bank warns that the 'price increase' engine for the dollar is being activated. There are warnings about the weakening of livelihoods in the coming year; wages are lagging behind inflation rates. Protests by telecommunications retirees in several cities in Iran continue, with reports of widespread discontent. The unprecedented waves of migration from Iran continue, with predictions of the formation of a Ministry of Migration. The heavy consequences of stagflation are confirmed by the widespread buying and selling of 'marriage loans' by government officials. Criticism has intensified regarding the approval of a resolution to increase retirement age and service years by the Guardian Council.