Rogue State

Sanctions Crushing Iranian Currency

These Iran sanctions may be working after all.

Iran’s rial plunged against the U.S. dollar in open-market trade on Monday, taking its loss in value over the past week to more than a quarter in further evidence that Western sanctions are shattering the economy.The freefall suggests sanctions imposed over Iran’s nuclear program are undermining its ability to earn foreign exchange and that its reserves of hard currency may be running low.The rial traded at 34,200 per dollar according to currency-tracking website Mazanex, down from about 29,720 on Sunday. It was trading at 24,600 last Monday, according to website Mesghal.

Here's a chart of the Iranian currency's collapse up to the beginning of September. Now knock 25% more off that.

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David Frum

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