Clerical Regime in Iran Profits as the U.S. Dollar Surges Against the Rial

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As the Iranian rial continues to lose value against the US dollar, the clerical regime is leveraging the crisis to fill its own coffers while ordinary citizens face worsening economic conditions. Despite widespread economic hardship, policies enacted by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and state-controlled entities suggest a deliberate strategy: manipulating currency markets, restricting gold trade, and benefiting from the very inflation that is crippling the population.

A Currency Crisis That Benefits the State

The soaring exchange rate has led to skyrocketing prices for essential goods, housing, and medicine, severely affecting workers, pensioners, and middle-class citizens. However, for the state, a weak rial provides multiple advantages:

1. Higher Government Revenues from Exports – The state, as the country’s largest foreign currency holder, receives more rials per dollar when it sells crude oil, petrochemicals, and minerals abroad.
2. Windfall Profits from Gold and Currency Auctions – By selling gold coins and foreign currency at artificially high prices, the Central Bank is absorbing public liquidity while exacerbating inflation.
3. Debt Reduction Through Inflation – As the rial depreciates, government debts shrink in real terms, making it easier to cover budget shortfalls.

#Iranian Banks’ Debt to Central Bank Soars Amid Unchecked #Money Printinghttps://t.co/XTmEnzoj0M

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 23, 2024

Amid the currency crisis, the Central Bank launched a massive presale of one million gold coins, requiring full payment in advance and delaying delivery until mid-to-late 2025. The state-controlled Fararu confirmed that the CBI set the initial sale price far above actual market rates, allowing the government to collect billions in immediate revenue.

According to official reports, each gold coin was sold at a markup of over 12 million tomans above its real value, generating an estimated 28,000 billion tomans in direct profit for the government within three days. The policy effectively transferred wealth from ordinary citizens to the state under the pretext of “protecting savings.”

Furthermore, the CBI froze private gold traders’ bank accounts, disrupting independent trade and ensuring that citizens had no choice but to buy directly from the government at inflated prices.

State Media Confirms the Strategy

State reports acknowledge that the CBI actively encourages gold purchases instead of holding cash, a move designed to prevent capital flight while strengthening the bank’s reserves. Official directives confirm that the government has:

• Restricted citizens to buy only six gold coins per person, limiting their ability to protect larger savings.
• Forced buyers to pay 100% upfront, while delaying delivery for months—locking public funds in state-controlled accounts.
• Offered “gold ownership certificates” instead of actual coins, allowing the state to maintain physical control over national gold reserves.

#Iran News:
Iranian Central Bank Threatens Taxation on #Currency Buyers Amid Soaring Dollar Priceshttps://t.co/cBaTRrchiz

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 16, 2024

While official media portrays these measures as economic stabilization, they effectively limit the public’s financial options while ensuring the state profits from gold’s rising value.

While the economy desperately needs foreign currency, the government has allowed billions of dollars in export earnings to remain unreturned. According to Iran’s state financial oversight agencies, $4.6 billion in export revenue has failed to re-enter the domestic market—worsening the dollar shortage and fueling price hikes.

Instead of enforcing currency repatriation, the regime permits select exporters to fulfill obligations with imported gold rather than dollars, increasing the state’s gold reserves while driving up domestic gold prices. This artificial scarcity creates a feedback loop where the public is pushed toward gold investments—benefiting state-run gold auctions and financial institutions.

Ordinary Citizens Bear the Costs

While the government extracts profits from the currency crisis, the average Iranian is suffering unprecedented economic hardship. Inflation has wiped out wage increases, making even basic necessities unaffordable for wage earners and pensioners.

#Iranian Central Bank Targeted in U.S. #Sanctions Over Tech Smugglinghttps://t.co/PS4ssy2xyw

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) February 15, 2024

State media admits:

• Housing costs have become unattainable, with workers needing over 115 years of savings to buy an average home.
• Pensioners’ purchasing power has collapsed, with wages barely covering ten days of expenses per month.
• The cost of medicine and healthcare has skyrocketed, forcing many to self-medicate or forgo treatment entirely.

The deliberate suppression of wages alongside the intentional devaluation of the rial ensures that ordinary Iranians struggle to survive while the government remains financially secure.

The CBI’s manipulation of currency markets, state-enforced gold trade restrictions, and the selective handling of export revenues all point to a calculated strategy to exploit the crisis rather than resolve it. The clerical establishment, as the country’s largest economic entity, stands to gain from inflation, currency devaluation, and rising commodity prices—while citizens pay the price.