In a post on his Instagram account on Sunday, Abdolnasser Hemmati said the US has started a new round of psychological war against the Iranian nation, pointing to the US bid to hold an anti-Iran meeting in Poland next month and a separate warning Washington would not renew exemptions from anti-Iran oil sanctions.
Hemmati said the latest oil threat comes following futile US efforts to convince countries to cut down to zero their purchase of Iran’s oil, which forced the country to grudgingly issue oil exemptions for eight countries.
The CBI governor said the latest moves are designed to weaken Iran’s currency, and the central bank will do its best to counter them.
Hemmati said Iran has started supplying currency from India, South Korea and China and it has also moved to broaden trade with Turkey, Iraq and other neighbours.
These measures, along with the CBI’s significant currency reserves, will allow it to control the currency market, he said.
Iran’s national currency had plunged in recent months, reaching to a maximum of around 200,000 against each dollar in the free market.
However, the currency market has been stabilized in recent weeks, with the national currency going up to around 100,000 for each dollar. The rate currently stands at 114,000.
The US State Department said in a statement on January 11 that it will host a global conference in Poland on February 13-14 to discuss the Middle East, and Iran in particular.
US State Secretary Mike Pompeo, who is currently on a tour of the Middle East, has announced the US is redoubling efforts to put pressure on Iran.
