The Iranian rial plunged to a historic low on the unregulated market, breaking past 1.99 million per U.S. dollar as Washington prepared to launch an unprecedented economic campaign against Tehran.
The sharp currency decline follows the launch of a major sanctions offensive unveiled by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Ahead of the official announcement, Bessent described the campaign as an “economic D-Day” intended to sever Tehran’s global economic lifelines and isolate the country’s financial system.
Data tracked on the unregulated market showed the rial dropping by 4.5 percent shortly after threats of broadened secondary sanctions against international trading partners were made public. In response, Iran retaliated by blacklisting 45 commercial tankers attempting to navigate the Strait of Hormuz, threatening severe measures against any vessels engaging in ship-to-ship transfers with the flagged ships.
The new American measures specifically target third-party nations and entities maintaining financial or commercial ties with Iran, focusing on shipping, digital assets, and foreign banking channels. Officials with the Central Bank of Iran confirmed that crude exports have effectively ground to a halt amid foreign banking suspensions, including recent transaction halts enacted by key regional trading partners like the United Arab Emirates.
