Mismanagement, Not Sanctions, Main Cause of Iranian Currency Devaluation: Leader

Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has blamed the government for the ongoing economic crisis in the country, saying the internal factor has been much more effective than external ones like sanctions.

Addressing thousands of Iranian people in Tehran on Monday, the Leader said, “Economic experts and many of our officials agree that internal elements, rather than external ones, are behind the ongoing issue [of the devaluation of Iranian currency].”

The Leader said he does not rule out the impact of sanctions, but the majority of the problems are caused by mismanagement.

If the economy is managed in a “better, more prudent, and stronger” way, then the sanctions would fail to have any significant impact, and resistance would be possible, the Leader noted.

He harshly criticized the Rouhani administration’s performance in managing the gold coin and foreign currency markets, saying that the officials’ negligence and imprudence led to abuses in these markets.

A dramatic rise in the rate of foreign currencies has adversely affected Iranian markets in recent months.

Amid a historic devaluation of the Iranian rial, the US dollar is currently exchanged for prices above 100,000 rials in the free market.

Even a package of measures recently unveiled by the Central Bank has failed to rein in the recent turbulence in foreign currency market.