Iran’s Currency Hits Record Low as US Blockade Deepens Economic Strain

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) conducts U.S. blockade operations related to the Strait of Hormuz in the Arabian Sea on April 16, 2026. U.S. Navy via Getty Images

Iran’s rial fell to a record low on April 29, weakening to about 1.8 million to the U.S. dollar as a shaky ceasefire with the United States and Israel continued to hold, raising fears of a new inflation surge in an economy already battered by war, sanctions, and a U.S. naval blockade.

The Iranian currency had remained relatively stable in the early weeks of the war, partly because there was minimal trading, but the rial began sliding earlier this week, dropping nearly 15 percent in two days.