Little hope of the end of the crisis: Iran's currency falls to a record low

Until recently, hopes for an improvement in the economic situation in Iran rested on a possible agreement in the nuclear dispute and an end to sanctions.

Little hope of the end of the crisis: Iran's currency falls to a record low

Until recently, hopes for an improvement in the economic situation in Iran rested on a possible agreement in the nuclear dispute and an end to sanctions. But with the suppression of the protests, this hope is becoming a distant memory. This is also reflected in the foreign exchange market.

Iran's currency falls to a record low after nearly 10 weeks of protests in the country. In the exchange offices, the euro exchange rate reached almost 400,000 rials on Sunday, the dollar exchange rate rose to more than 370,000 rials. That's a more than 20 percent increase since the protests in mid-September alone, according to forex brokers. They fear that the Iranian rial will depreciate even more in the coming weeks.

In connection with the nuclear dispute, Iran was already in an acute financial and economic crisis before the protests. Inflation had at times exceeded 100 percent. However, there were hopes that the economy could recover with an agreement in the nuclear negotiations with the West. In that case, Iran would have been able to resume its oil exports - the country's main source of income - and also regain access to its blocked accounts abroad.

But after the uprising of the last two and a half months against the Islamic system and the brutal suppression of the protests by the security forces, an agreement is a long way off. Both the USA and several European countries have not only condemned Iran in the strongest possible terms for human rights violations, they have also imposed new sanctions. In particular, with the recent execution of a demonstrator - and other planned executions - Iran must expect further political and economic isolation, according to observers.