The Iranian currency lost more value against the US dollar on Tuesday, trading at a near record 17,300 toman against the greenback compared to 550 at the end of last week.
According to Iranian media, the dollar rose around 2,000 toman in one week.
The last time the currency reached record lows against the dollar was in September 2018, a month after the United States renewed sanctions against Iran and three months after President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal.
The Iranian currency has lost 60 percent of its value since then.
The recent drop took place shortly after Iran Central Bank Governor Abdulnaser Hemmati tried to assure markets over the country’s foreign reserves, saying they are “good and unprecedented” despite the drop in oil revenues caused by the American sanctions and collapse in global oil prices.
In its 2020 Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia, published in April, the International Monetary Fund said Iran’s economy is expected to contract by 6 percent this year, against a 7.6 percent contraction in 2019. Inflation - which spiked after the United States reimposed sanctions - is expected to hit 34.2 percent this year, down from a peak of 41.1 percent last year.
The IMF forecast the Iranian government’s fiscal deficit to widen to 9.9 percent of gross domestic product this year from a 5.7 percent deficit last year.
Last week, Iran's parliament backed government plans to slash four zeros from the country's currency, which has been battered by a fall in value as a result of US sanctions.
