Iranian police forces on Wednesday swooped on foreign currency exchange businesses, closing down 10 exchange facilities and apprehending 90 forex dealers working in the street on charge of disrupting the foreign currency market.
The operation was carried out in cooperation with the Central Bank of Iran, which is under fire for the unprecedented growth in the rates of foreign currencies, particularly the US dollar.
Tehran Deputy Police Chief Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi said police forces are maintaining a permanent presence in the foreign currency business district in Tehran and will not allow profiteers to capitalize on the situation.
He noted that a high-profile figure dealing in foreign exchange was arrested in the raid.
The development comes as the value market of foreign currencies, especially the greenback, has been rising in the Iranian market recently. Some experts say the rising prices are just a bubble that could soon burst.
The government also says the rise in prices could be psychological and could emanate from citizens’ unwarranted concerns. It says the dollar rate, which currently stands at around IRR 50,000, is surging due to psychological reasons rather than economic factors.
