Iran’s Currency Falls to Record Low as Sanctions to Continue

Iranians walk in Chitgar complex in the west of Tehran, Iran, February 4, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Iranians walk in Chitgar complex in the west of Tehran, Iran, February 4, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Iran’s Currency Falls to Record Low as Sanctions to Continue

Iranians walk in Chitgar complex in the west of Tehran, Iran, February 4, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Iranians walk in Chitgar complex in the west of Tehran, Iran, February 4, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Iran's troubled currency broke below the psychologically key level of 500,000 rial per US dollar on Monday, as market participants saw no end in sight to sanctions.

The Iranian rial plummeted to a new record low of 501,300 against the US dollar, according to Bonbast.com which gathers live data from Iranian exchanges.

Facing an inflation rate of about 50%, Iranians seeking safe havens for their savings have been buying dollars, other hard currencies or gold, suggesting further headwinds for the rial.

The reimposition of US sanctions in 2018 by former President Donald J. Trump have harmed Iran's economy by limiting Tehran's oil exports and access to foreign currency.

Since September, nuclear talks between Iran and world powers to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions have stalled, worsening economic expectations for Iran's future. Over the last six months, Iran's currency has slumped nearly 60% in value, according to Bonbast.com.

Meanwhile, the central bank said it was opening a new foreign exchange center to ease access to foreign exchange and increase the volume of official transactions.

"The rate set in this exchange will become the market's rate. It should be free from expectation factors that do not reflect our assessment of the country's financial situation," Mohammad Reza Farzin, the central bank governor, told state TV on Monday.

Farzin was appointed in December as governor with the key job of controlling the value of foreign currencies, according to IRNA.



German Chancellor Says European Leaders and Zelenskyy Had ‘Constructive’ Meeting with Trump

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a press conference, on the day they attend a virtual meeting with US President Donald Trump and European leaders on the upcoming Trump-Putin summit on Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany, August 13, 2025. (Reuters)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a press conference, on the day they attend a virtual meeting with US President Donald Trump and European leaders on the upcoming Trump-Putin summit on Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany, August 13, 2025. (Reuters)
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German Chancellor Says European Leaders and Zelenskyy Had ‘Constructive’ Meeting with Trump

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a press conference, on the day they attend a virtual meeting with US President Donald Trump and European leaders on the upcoming Trump-Putin summit on Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany, August 13, 2025. (Reuters)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a press conference, on the day they attend a virtual meeting with US President Donald Trump and European leaders on the upcoming Trump-Putin summit on Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany, August 13, 2025. (Reuters)

European leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a “constructive” discussion with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday, two days ahead of Trump’s planned meeting in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. 

Speaking alongside Zelenskyy, Merz said after the videoconference that “important decisions” could be made in Anchorage, but stressed that “fundamental European and Ukrainian security interests must be protected” at the meeting. 

Merz convened the virtual meetings in an attempt to make sure European and Ukraine’s leaders are heard ahead of the summit, where Trump and Putin are expected to discuss a path toward ending Moscow's war in Ukraine. 

Zelenskyy and the Europeans have been sidelined from that summit. German government spokesperson Steffen Meyer said the intention of Wednesday's meetings was to “make clear the position of the Europeans.” 

Zelenskyy is due to meet with European leaders first, in preparation for a virtual call with Trump and Vice President JD Vance about an hour later. A call among leaders of countries involved in the “coalition of the willing” — those who are prepared to help police any future peace agreement between Moscow and Kyiv — will take place last. 

The Ukrainian leader on Wednesday said his government has had over 30 conversations with partners ahead of the summit in Alaska, but reiterated his doubt that Putin would negotiate in good faith. 

Writing on his official Telegram channel, Zelenskyy said there was “currently no sign that the Russians are preparing to end the war,” and urged Ukraine's partners in the United States and Europe to coordinate efforts and "force Russia to peace.” 

"Pressure must be applied on Russia for an honest peace. We must take the experience of Ukraine and our partners to prevent deception by Russia,” Zelenskyy said. 

The stakes for Europe  

Trump has said he wants to see whether Putin is serious about ending the war, now in its fourth year, describing Friday's summit as "a feel-out meeting” where he can assess the Russian leader's intentions. 

Yet Trump has disappointed allies in Europe by saying Ukraine will have to give up some Russian-held territory. He has also said Russia must accept land swaps, although it was unclear what Putin might be expected to surrender. 

European allies have pushed for Ukraine’s involvement in any peace talks, fearful that discussions that exclude Kyiv could otherwise favor Moscow. 

Trump on Monday ducked repeated chances to say that he would push for Zelenskyy to take part in his discussions with Putin, and was dismissive of Zelenskyy and his need to be part of an effort to seek peace. Trump said that following Friday's summit, a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders could be arranged, or that it could also be a meeting with “Putin and Zelenskyy and me.” 

The Europeans and Ukraine are wary that Putin, who has waged the biggest land war in Europe since 1945 and used Russia’s energy might to try to intimidate the European Union, might secure favorable concessions and set the outlines of a peace deal without them. 

The overarching fear of many European countries is that Putin will set his sights on one of them next if he wins in Ukraine. 

Land concessions a non-starter for Kyiv  

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from the remaining 30% of the Donetsk region that it still controls as part of a ceasefire deal, a proposal the leader categorically rejected. 

Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not give up any territory it controls, saying that would be unconstitutional and would serve only as a springboard for a future Russian invasion. 

He said diplomatic discussions led by the US focusing on ending the war have not addressed key Ukrainian demands, including security guarantees to prevent future Russian aggression and including Europe in negotiations. 

Three weeks after Trump returned to office, his administration took the leverage of Ukraine’s NATO membership off the table — something that Putin has demanded — and signaled that the EU and Ukraine must handle security in Europe now while America focuses its attention elsewhere. 

Senior EU officials believe that Trump may be satisfied with simply securing a ceasefire in Ukraine, and is probably more interested in broader US geostrategic interests and great power politics, aiming to ramp up business with Russia and rehabilitate Putin. 

Russian advances in Donbas  

Russian forces on the ground in Ukraine have been closing in on a key territorial grab around the city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donbas region comprises Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland that Putin has long coveted. 

Military analysts using open-source information to monitor the battles have said Ukraine's ability to fend off those advances could be critical: Losing Pokrovsk would hand Russia an important victory ahead of the summit and could complicate Ukrainian supply lines to the Donetsk region, where the Kremlin has focused the bulk of military efforts. 

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces struck an oil pumping station in Russia’s Bryansk region overnight on Wednesday, according to a statement from Ukraine’s General Staff. 

Ukrainian drones struck the Unecha station which supplies the Russian army, the statement said, adding that damage and a large fire was reported in the area around the pumping station. 

Unecha transports oil to two pipelines with an annual capacity to pump 60 million tons. The operation was carried out by units of the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine’s army and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry, the statement said.