Iran's national currency has been on a months-long freefall. The cost of living for Iranians has soared, sparking angry antigovernment demonstrations in the Islamic republic.
So the country's hard-liners were in celebratory mood after the rial unexpectedly rallied against the U.S. dollar earlier this week, prompting media close to the conservative camp to claim that the American currency was an "aborted," "clown," currency in "tears."
The rial has lost about 70 percent of its value since May, when U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that had provided sanctions relief in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program. A first wave of U.S. sanctions was reinstated in August and a second phase will take effect in November.
Just last week, the rial had hit a record low of 190,000 to the U.S. dollar on the unofficial market, but was trading at 170,000 to the dollar by October 1, according to foreign exchange website Bonbast.com, which tracks the unofficial market in Iran. Then the unexpected happened -- the currency's value soared to 135,000 to the dollar on October 2.
