Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 24, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 24, 2026
Iranian rial slumps to new record low as economic pressure set to ramp up
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Current and pre-revolution Iranian banknotes are displayed by a street money exchanger at Ferdowsi square, Tehran’s go-to venue for foreign currency exchange, in downtown Tehran, Iran, on August 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran’s currency has hit a new record low ahead of a US announcement on new measures meant to pile pressure on an economy already battered by previous sanctions and a US naval blockade.
The rial drops to 2.02 million to the US dollar as trading opens on informal currency markets. Iran’s official Central Bank rate stands at around 1.5 million rial to the dollar, but the informal rate is what most Iranians pay.
The currency had already been under pressure before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, with double-digit inflation and negative growth, but has been hitting new record lows as nearly six months of war have taken an even greater toll.
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