The Fall of the Rial: Tehran’s Street Currency Market Reveals the Depth of Iran’s Economic Crisis

From Currency Depreciation to Currency Collapse

The term “currency collapse” is powerful and should be used carefully.

Not every sharp depreciation constitutes a total monetary collapse.

A currency can lose a large percentage of its value while remaining in circulation and continuing to serve as the primary means of payment.

Iran’s rial remains the country’s national currency.

People continue to receive wages in rials.

Businesses continue to price many domestic goods in rials.

Taxes are paid in rials.

Government salaries are denominated in rials.

But the declining value of the currency can nevertheless produce conditions associated with a severe currency crisis.

One of the clearest warning signs is when people increasingly think in terms of another currency.

The dollar becomes the reference.

Gold becomes a reference.

Foreign assets become a reference.

The domestic currency remains the unit of payment, but it increasingly stops being the unit of confidence.

September 2, 2026 | 5:51 pm