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The Iranian rial fell to a reported open-market low of more than 2.5 million rials per U.S. dollar in Tehran on Sept. 29, 2026, according to the Associated Press. By Oct. 3, Iran International put the open-market dollar at around 2.7 million rials. These are dated market quotes—not the Central Bank’s official rate or a guaranteed rate for a transaction.
What is the rial’s exchange rate against the dollar?
The reported figures refer to Iran’s free, or open, market. The Associated Press said Tehran traders exchanged more than 2.5 million rials for a dollar on Sept. 29, topping the previous reported record of 2.2 million on Sept. 2 (Associated Press, Sept. 29, 2026). Iran International reported the open-market dollar at around 2.7 million rials on Oct. 3; in the same report, the euro was above 3 million, the pound about 3.52 million, and the dirham above 730,000 (Iran International, Oct. 3, 2026).
Iran International also compared the dollar’s Oct. 3 market quote with a rate of around 1.1 million rials about a year earlier. That is a nominal exchange-rate comparison, not an inflation-adjusted measure of what households could buy. Market rates can move quickly, and the cited reports do not establish a single guaranteed conversion rate.
How does Iran’s official rate differ from the free-market rate?
Iran has multiple exchange rates. Euronews describes the Central Bank’s official rate as applying to state transactions and subsidized imports of essential goods. The free-market rate is available to ordinary people and businesses and is significantly weaker (Euronews, Sept. 2, 2026).
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Euronews reported that the free-market dollar had risen above 2.1 million rials on Sept. 2, but the report did not supply a same-day figure for the official rate. The sources cited here therefore do not establish a contemporaneous official rate for Oct. 3. The two rates serve different purposes and should not be treated as interchangeable when interpreting a market quote.
Why is Iran’s currency falling?
The reporting points to overlapping pressures rather than one proven cause. Years of international sanctions have restricted oil revenue and access to foreign currency. The Associated Press and Euronews also describe additional pressure from a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, new sanctions imposed since the war began, and strain on banking channels, trade routes, and oil exports. Domestic inflation, uncertainty, expectations, and policy choices also affect the currency.
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Iranian officials and outside critics differ on how much weight to give each factor. Central Bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said, “The dust created in the foreign exchange market will settle, and the recent increase in exchange rates is driven more by psychological factors than by real economic factors,” as quoted by Euronews. That is the bank governor’s assessment, not an uncontested explanation.
The Central Bank said it planned to inject $2 billion in banknotes. Iran International reported on Oct. 2 that the measure had not halted the slide by that point. The reporting establishes the announced intervention and the market’s movement through that date, not its longer-term effect.
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A weaker rial makes foreign currency more expensive in local terms, raising the potential cost of imported medicines, machinery, raw materials, and other goods. Iran International reported September 2026 consumer prices were 89.8% higher year on year and that average inflation over the preceding 12 months was 73.6%, citing Statistical Center of Iran data. Those figures describe inflation across consumer prices; exchange-rate depreciation is one pressure on costs, not proof that the currency alone caused every price increase.
Medicine supply illustrates why prices and availability can be affected through more than the exchange rate. The Associated Press reported that Iran produces more than 80% of its medicines domestically, according to official statistics, but many products rely on imported raw materials. The head of the government drug-pricing agency said 2,000 types of medicine had their prices “amended” over the preceding six months. AP also described rising medicine prices and supply and payment complications.
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Reza Majdzadeh, a professor at the University of Essex’s School of Health and Social Care, told AP: “A medicine may be perfectly legal to sell to Iran, but a bank may refuse to process the payment.” He was describing how financial sanctions and institutional caution can impede transactions even when the medicine itself is not directly sanctioned.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does this compare with earlier rial declines?
The 2026 quotes are part of a longer record of sharp depreciation, but historical figures are not directly comparable with today’s prices or purchasing power. The Congressional Research Service records the rial’s market value at about 35,000 per U.S. dollar during U.S. implementation of the JCPOA, falling to 150,000 by Nov. 5, 2018, after sanctions were reimposed, and reaching about 265,000 in September 2020. It also cites Statistical Center of Iran inflation of about 45% in 2021 (Congressional Research Service, Iran sanctions report).
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