00:00I'm holding 160 million Iranian riyals in my pocket.
00:04No need for a suitcase, because that very large number is worth only one Benjamin, 100 US dollars.
00:26In Iran, you can be a billionaire and still be very average.
00:31Right now, I'm holding 160 million Iranian riyals in my pocket.
00:35No need for a suitcase, because that very large number is worth only one Benjamin, 100 US dollars.
00:43And that's the reality of Iran's national currency, the riyal, which has been experiencing record lows over the past year.
00:50And what's even more interesting is that less than a year ago, the Iranian riyal was traded at roughly 800
00:56,000 to 1 US dollar.
00:58And comparing these two numbers, it means that it has lost more than half its value in less than a
01:06year.
01:06And when the national currency of the country experiences such quick periods of depreciation, it makes the economy of that
01:14country unpredictable.
01:16And this has led many to convert their assets and their savings to gold or other currencies like the dollar
01:24or euro to preserve the value of their assets.
01:30We no longer have the freedom of action we had until recently.
01:34Since we've been in this business for years, we had credit and could use checks.
01:38Now, we don't even consider it for our counterparts, because we ourselves are manufacturers.
01:43There are no raw materials.
01:45Okay, prices are extremely high.
01:47The final cost of their product has gone up significantly.
01:52This surge has been much greater than the time period.
01:55People no longer possess the ability to make purchases.
01:58If you just consider this, we began the year 1404 with a dollar valued at 80 tomans.
02:02Now, we are concluding it with a dollar at 170 tomans.
02:05This means that almost every single thing has effectively doubled.
02:08But the incomes of the people haven't experienced this kind of change.
02:12I personally, as an individual working 13 hours daily in this very country, I'm experiencing severe economic pressure.
02:18I feel it in my bones.
02:19The psychological pressure and the people's morale are truly not good.
02:23I sincerely hope that something will happen.
02:27Neither should we get involved in war, nor should we enter that political...
02:30And this is the reality of the Iranian economy.
02:33Many people you see on the streets are worrying about what's next.
02:38Because the depreciation of the rial means that their monthly salary keep losing their value.
02:47And this means that the purchasing power, the livelihoods of the Iranians are depreciating and are weakening over time.
02:55And many trace this hardship to the U.S. sanctions.
02:59And recently, the U.N. sanctions imposed and reinstated against the country as a result of the collapse of the
03:052015 nuclear deal.
03:07But there are many who believe that government mismanagement is to blame for this economic hardship.
03:12This is Yusuf Jalali reporting from Tehran.
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