Iran’s currency, the Iranian rial, plunged to a historic low this week amid deepening economic turmoil and nationwide unrest. According to multiple currency-tracking sites, the rial fell to roughly 1.5 million per U.S. dollar, marking the weakest level in the regime’s history and intensifying pressures on Tehran’s hard-pressed economy.
The dramatic depreciation follows months of economic deterioration in Iran, driven by high inflation, sanctions, and structural weaknesses that have eroded living standards and government control. Annual inflation has surged above 40 percent, food and essential goods prices have soared, and widespread protests have erupted as Iranians struggle with rapidly rising costs and declining purchasing power.
Sources report that U.S. intelligence briefings delivered to President Trump indicate the Iranian regime’s grip on power is at its weakest point since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. These assessments reflect not only economic distress but also escalating public dissent that now crosses broad segments of Iranian society, including groups that once supported the Islamic Republic.
The currency collapse has been a key trigger for unrest. Protest movements that began in late December over living costs rapidly expanded into broader anti-regime demonstrations, leading to a harsh government crackdown, reported casualties, and mass arrests. Iran’s government has also intermittently restricted internet access and attempted currency reforms, but these measures have done little to stem the rial’s depreciation or ease social tensions.
This economic crisis underscores entrenched weaknesses in Iran’s economic and governance systems decades after the Revolution. The combination of sanctions, inflation, loss of oil revenue, and financial mismanagement continues to cripple the regime’s ability to deliver basic stability, raising questions about its long-term resilience.
