Iranian rial falls to new record low — PBS NewsHour

In Iran, the rial’s exchange rate fell to a new record low on Tuesday: traders in Tehran were exchanging more than 2.5 million rials for one US dollar. The currency set its previous negative record — 2.2 million rials per dollar — 27 days earlier, on September 2.

As PBS NewsHour reports, Iran’s economy has been under pressure from international sanctions for years. The situation was further worsened by a US naval blockade targeting Iranian oil and new sanctions imposed since the start of the war in the Middle East in February.

Negotiations on the Strait of Hormuz

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that indirect talks with the United States on opening the Strait of Hormuz had become “more serious.” According to him, the negotiations are currently focused solely on the strait, which is a key narrow sea route in the war.

Araghchi made the statement after meetings with Pakistani and Qatari mediators in New York, where he attended events of the UN General Assembly. He noted that Qatari representatives were to discuss the issue again with the US side and convey Washington’s final response to Tehran.

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Officials, including US officials, confirmed to the Associated Press that mediators are trying to reach an agreement between Iran and the United States on ending hostilities and opening the strait. These efforts continue after US President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s proposal to open the strait within seven days in exchange for lifting the blockade of Iranian ports, unfreezing Iran’s assets, and easing sanctions on oil sales.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps appeal

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson General Hossein Mohebbi called on Americans to protest against the war and pressure their government. He claimed that the hostilities would end if Washington acknowledged defeat and left the Middle East.

The Trump administration, for its part, says that the new sanctions and the blockade aimed at preventing Iranian oil from reaching the market are intended to weaken Tehran’s ability to continue the conflict. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Iran is moving toward an economic “cataclysm.”