Iranian Parliament Discusses a Record Drop in Local Currency

An Iranian man looks at the exchange store in Tehran (EPA)
An Iranian man looks at the exchange store in Tehran (EPA)
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Iranian Parliament Discusses a Record Drop in Local Currency

An Iranian man looks at the exchange store in Tehran (EPA)
An Iranian man looks at the exchange store in Tehran (EPA)

The Iranian parliament held a closed session on the record decline of the Iranian riyal against foreign currencies as the dollar continues its record-breaking high.

The parliament held an extraordinary session with Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi, and Central Bank Governor Mohammadreza Farzin.

A spokesman for the parliament's presidency, Nizamuddin Mousavi, told reporters that the three officials' questioning came following the rise in the exchange rate and essential commodities.

He indicated that senior government economic officials explained the developments in the exchange market, adding that the lawmakers stressed the need to find solutions to the living conditions.

Mousavi noted that government officials recognized that the exchange rate fluctuations could harm the country's economy, noting that officials are proposing contradicting policies.

A member of the parliament's presidency, Alireza Salimi, told the Fars news agency that the Economy Minister informed lawmakers that the security forces arrested many currency manipulators whose aim was to disrupt the currency market.

Farzin told lawmakers that only the rates announced by the bank's new portal were "real."

According to Fars, lawmakers criticized the currency situation and called on the government to take serious measures to control fluctuations.

It quoted the deputies as saying that the governor has the necessary powers to facilitate measures, noting that if the government faced restrictions and legal obstacles, the parliament was ready to pass laws to help.

The parliamentarians said they were ready to cooperate with the government to improve the situation.

MP Mohammadreza Taj al-Dini reported that the Central Bank governor said the foreign currency rate is unrealistic, calling for a unified system for gold and currencies.

The government and the parliament agreed to hold joint sessions on the gold and currency market and the economic situation in the country, said Taj al-Dini, adding that the government can benefit from the parliament's advice to stabilize the economy.

The Minister of Economy briefed the parliamentarians on the currency market imbalances, adding that the security, intelligence, and judicial institutions would deal with currency manipulators.

Meanwhile, the local currency fell below the level of 500,000 riyals per the US dollar last Monday, as market participants saw no end to the sanctions.

On Saturday, the riyal plummeted to a new record low at 567,000 against the dollar, compared to the 539,200 recorded on Friday, according to Bonbast.com, which gathers live data from Iranian exchanges.

The US Commerce Department targeted Belarus, Iran, and others in its latest response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, imposing export controls and adding more targets to its target list.

Economists said the deadlock in nuclear negotiations, the exacerbation of Western-Iranian tensions, especially after the Ukrainian war, the suppression of recent protests, and the government's failure to improve the economic situation were among the reasons for the rise in the exchange rate.

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.

Over the last six months, Iran's currency has slumped nearly 60% in value, according to Bonbast.com.

Iranian websites quoted Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf as saying that the parliament and government need to coordinate to regulate the currency market.

In response, Central Bank Governor Abdul Nasser Hemmati implicitly criticized Ghalibaf's statements, wondering why it has taken so long to solve the issue if the parliament and the government agreed to regulate and stabilize the market in an hour-long meeting.

Hemmati, who lost the previous presidential elections, wondered if the economic team realized the impact of the high exchange rate on people's livelihoods.



Trump, Musk Target Tax Enforcers, Rocket Scientists, Bank Regulators for Job Cuts 

US President Donald Trump speaks during signing of executive orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during signing of executive orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump, Musk Target Tax Enforcers, Rocket Scientists, Bank Regulators for Job Cuts 

US President Donald Trump speaks during signing of executive orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during signing of executive orders at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

President Donald Trump's administration targeted on Tuesday bank regulators, rocket scientists and tax enforcers for dismissal, as a federal judge gave the green light for its unprecedented remaking of the US civil service, at least for now.

With Trump's blessing and praise, tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has swept through federal agencies slashing thousands of jobs since Trump became president last month and put Musk, his biggest campaign donor, in charge of a drastic overhaul of government.

Trump claimed without evidence on Tuesday the endeavor would save "hundreds of billions of dollars" and heaped praise on Musk as a patriot. Musk's team has said it has saved $55 billion so far, less than 1% of the annual $6.7 trillion federal budget.

The campaign has delighted Republicans for culling a federal workforce they view as bloated, corrupt and insufficiently loyal to Trump, while also taking aim at government agencies that regulate big business and collect taxes.

Democratic critics in turn have raised concerns that Trump is exceeding his constitutional authority and hacking away at popular and critical government programs at the expense of legions of middle-class families.

They complain that Musk has operated as an unchecked freelance operator who has seized access to sensitive government data.

On Tuesday the downsizing extended to NASA, where 1,000 new hires including rocket scientists were expected to be laid off, according to two people familiar with the US space agency's plans. More cuts were deemed possible.

"People are scared and not speaking up to voice dissent or disagreement," said one employee at the 18,000-person agency who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Musk said the complaints were a sign that DOGE was working.

"All we're really try to do here is restore the will of the people through the president and what we're finding is that there's an unelected bureaucracy ... that is implacably opposed to the president and the cabinet," Musk told Fox News in an interview recorded on Friday and aired on Tuesday.

The White House has not said how many people it plans to fire and has given no numbers on the mass layoffs. The information to date has come from employees of federal agencies.

The Office of Personnel Management, which manages the civil service, set a deadline on Tuesday for all government departments to provide a list of probationary employees who have been terminated and those sought to be retained, an OPM spokesperson said.

It remained unclear whether the numbers would be disclosed.

COURT BATTLES

About 20 lawsuits filed in various federal courts challenging Musk's authority have seen mixed results.

In one of the more consequential cases, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Tuesday denied a request to place a temporary hold on DOGE. She instead allowed the campaign to continue while underlying litigation plays out.

But Chutkan raised flags about Musk's authority as an independent operator, writing, "Plaintiffs legitimately call into question what appears to be the unchecked authority of an unelected individual and an entity that was not created by Congress and over which it has no oversight."

Congressional Democrats said oversight committee requests for information had gone unanswered, calls to agency officials were not being returned, and details of new policies essential for constituent casework were difficult to come by.

"This is not normal, at all," one Senate committee aide said about the lack of response.

Trump asserted even more executive authority on Tuesday, issuing an order to rein in independent agencies and claiming presidential supervision and control of the entire executive branch except for the Federal Reserve.

The White House identified the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as agencies that "have exercised enormous power over the American people without presidential oversight."

The job-cutting continued apace.

Senior officials at the IRS identified at least 7,500 employees for dismissal, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which oversees banks, said it had fired an unknown number of new hires, according to an email seen by Reuters.

Layoffs were also expected at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which handles flood insurance and disaster response, as well as its parent, the Department of Homeland Security, sources said.

Among the workers swept up in the overhaul of dozens of agencies are those reviewing Musk's brain implant company Neuralink.

Musk's role has raised questions about the fate of at least 20 federal investigations and regulatory actions affecting his business empire, Reuters reported last month.

On Tuesday, Trump said he would not let Musk participate in any space-related government decisions.