TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s currency fell to its lowest value on Sunday as talks with world powers to revive the country’s broken nuclear deal remained stalemate.
Traders in Tehran exchanged the rial for US$332,000, up from 327,500 on Saturday. This marks a change of over 4.4% compared to June 1 when it traded at 318,000 against the dollar.
At the time of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iran’s currency was trading at 32,000 rials against the dollar.
Meanwhile, police arrested 31 currency and gold traders on charges of creating “false demand” in the market, Iranian state TV reported without elaboration on Sunday.
The rial’s new low comes as US sanctions against the country are still in force. Iran’s economy has been struggling mostly because of America’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which reinstated sanctions on Iran’s oil and banking sectors. Negotiations to renew the agreement in Vienna have been at a standstill for months.
In response to the US withdrawal and sanctions, Iran has abandoned some of its commitments to the agreement and has since increased its nuclear activities, including enriching uranium beyond limits set out in the treaty, which was formally called Known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). ,
Efforts to revive the JCPOA withdrew last week as Iran announced it was installing further uranium enrichment centrifuges and removing dozens of UN surveillance cameras at nuclear sites that were part of a 2015 deal. were posted as development, which the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations has called, “fatal blowNegotiations on the deal came after the watchdog passed a resolution condemning Iran for not responding to nuclear material at undeclared sites.
