The US dollar set a new all-time high against Iran’s currency in Tehran’s unregulated market on Saturday, crossing 1.94 million rials as intensifying military and political strains sparked another wave of selling in Iran’s foreign exchange and amplified worries about renewed inflationary pressures.

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The greenback changed hands at 1.941 million rials, a fresh peak and a rise of 32,000 rials, or 1.67%, compared with the prior day’s unofficial closing level.

The common currency also advanced, trading at 2.22 million rials, gaining 36,000 rials, or 1.64%, from Friday’s unofficial close.

This most recent jump means the Iranian rial has depreciated roughly 43.7% versus the US dollar since the start of the year, when the dollar was valued at approximately 1.35 million rials in Tehran’s free market.

It rose to 1.72 million rials after US and Israeli airstrikes hit Iran on February 28.

As the conflict hampered economic and commercial operations, demand for foreign currency temporarily softened, and the dollar fell back to around 1.46 million rials.

Following Donald Trump’s warning on April 7 about launching airstrikes against Iran’s vital infrastructure, the dollar recovered to 1.63 million rials before declining to roughly 1.525 million rials after a ceasefire was declared.

The revival of economic activity, together with government assessments putting war-related losses at $300 billion, rekindled strain on the currency market and drove the dollar near 1.9 million rials.

The agreement between Tehran and Washington briefly restored market confidence, pushing the exchange rate back to 1.53 million rials.

But fresh political frictions between the two nations soon erased those advances, sending the dollar back up to about 1.7 million rials.

The rial has since encountered additional downward pressure after the imposition of a new naval blockade of Iran and US airstrikes on the country’s southern areas, operations that Washington says aim to weaken Iran’s military strength and deter threats to shipping via the Strait of Hormuz.

This newest escalation has heightened expectations of continued currency weakening and quicker inflation.

Official figures point to an economy already experiencing severe price increases.

Inflation has picked up markedly in recent months. Yearly consumer price inflation, which was 52.6% in December 2025, climbed to about 68% in February 2026 before hitting 88.6% last month. Iran’s inflation rate has now reached its highest point since World War II.

Sustained high inflation and rapid money supply growth continue to undermine the rial’s buying power, while geopolitical uncertainty has sped up the currency’s decline.

A weaker rial in turn lifts import expenses, stokes inflation expectations, and pushes prices even higher, creating a loop that is putting growing pressure on household earnings and the nation’s overall macroeconomic stability.

Source: IndexBox Market Intelligence Platform