While the government promises a “new monetary era”, the reality speaks of an impoverished people, an enriched ruling class and a regime that prefers to export terrorism rather than save its economy.
THE’Iran has decided to delete four zeros from its currency, the riala move that the government presents as the first step towards economic stability. In reality, behind the monetary reform lies yet another attempt to mask a collapse that has its roots in systemic corruption, the failed management of the state and the enormous flow of money destined for the financing of militias abroad.
The Parliament of Tehran approved the measure with 144 votes in favour, 108 against and three abstentions. The new qiranequal to one hundredth of a rial, will enter circulation alongside the old currency for a transition period of three years. Second Shamseddin Hosseinipresident of the Parliament’s Economic Commission, the objective would be “to make banknotes more functional and simplify financial transactions”, taking the example of countries such as Türkiyewhich adopted similar renamings in 2003 and 2005.
However, all the same Hosseini he admitted that cutting zeros will not be able to solve the structural problems of the Iranian economy. For years, inflation has hovered around 40%, gross domestic product is contracting and real unemployment far exceeds official figures. From the 2018when US sanctions struck again Tehranthe rial has collapsed since 42,000 beyond 1.1 million per dollar. A coin reduced to a symbol of waste paper.
According to data published by the state newspaper Mardomsalari, real wages have fallen by 400% in ten years: the minimum wage is now equivalent to approx $94against i 235 of 2015. The 30% of the population officially lives below the poverty line, but independent estimates speak of a rate between 50 and the80%. In some provinces like Semnan And Hormozganinflation has exceeded 41%and experts predict that it may touch the 60% if the rial continues to devalue. But as Iranian families struggle to scrape together a meal, billions of dollars continue to flow abroad to prop up Iran’s military machine. Tehran has been financing the “Axis of Resistance” for years, the network of militias and terrorist organizations that operate as the armed wing of the regime: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and the Shiite formations in Syria And Iraq.
According to Western estimates, Iran supplies more than that every year 700 million dollars to Hezbollah and hundreds of millions a Hamasthrough indirect channels that evade sanctions. The Houthis they receive missiles, drones and cheap fuel to conduct attacks against civilian shipping in the Red Sea. The Iraqi militias, financed through the Pasdaran and the Go Qudscontrol trafficking and smuggling routes that ensure a Tehran access to foreign exchange and raw materials.
Behind this system lies a gigantic network of corruption. The front companies created by the Guardians of the Revolution, the so-called bonyadmanage strategic sectors of the economy – from construction to oil to telecommunications – with total impunity and without any parliamentary control. Official profits are reinvested in military programs or influence operations abroad, while a substantial portion ends up in the pockets of military and religious leaders.
There Central Bank of Iranstrangled by sanctions, continues to print money to cover the deficit, fueling inflation that destroys purchasing power. Foreign exchange reserves are in free fall and capital flight abroad has reached record levels. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund forecasts economic growth close to zero for 2025, while youth unemployment exceeds 30%. The illusion of “cutting zeros” from the currency therefore does not serve to correct the economy, but to gain time and internal consensus. Iran is a country where resources are drained by an elite that finances wars and ideological propaganda instead of investing in development, infrastructure or jobs. Every rial subtracted from the civil economy is transformed into a missile for Hamas, Hezbollah or in a drone for the Houthis.While the government promises a “new monetary era“, the reality speaks of an impoverished people, an enriched ruling class and a regime that prefers to export terrorism rather than save its own economy. banknotes their face and value will change, but the substance will remain the same: a country undermined by a political system that fuels internal corruption and external war. Until Iran will continue to allocate its resources to regional destabilization, no reform will be able to reverse the trend. The rial may lose four zeros, but many more should be added to the moral and political balance sheet of the regime.
