Iranian currency slide hits traders in Kurdistan Region
Shafaq News – Al-Sulaymaniyah
The Iranian rial has plunged to its weakest level in years, sending shockwaves through currency markets in the Kurdistan Region, where traders rely heavily on daily toman transactions.
According to Shafaq News correspondent in Al-Sulaymaniyah, 100 US dollars traded on Wednesday at roughly 12.15 million tomans*.
The Iranian currency began 2025 at around 4.8 million tomans per 100 dollars, rose to 7.5 million by midyear following new US sanctions, surpassed 10 million in the autumn amid regional tensions, and reached 11.15 million in December — its lowest level in more than a decade.
Economic analyst Ismail Mohammed told Shafaq News that the crisis stems from interlinked external and internal drivers, adding that deteriorating relations between Iran and Western states created direct political pressure on the rial.
Internal factors, including economic decisions expected early next year such as fuel-price increases, higher costs for local goods, and government plans to raise salaries, measures he believes will intensify pressure on the currency and feed a new wave of inflation.
Meanwhile, Shafaq News' observations indicate that exchange markets in Al-Sulaymaniyah, Halabja, and Garmian have seen noticeable volatility over the past two days. Some traders reduced toman transactions while awaiting market stabilization, while others reported a drop in demand from customers who typically rely on the Iranian currency for daily transfers or imports from Iran.
Kawa Yahya, a currency trader in Al-Sulaymaniyah, told Shafaq News that the scale of the drop “was not expected,” noting that demand for dollars inside Iran has surged sharply amid heightened tensions between Tehran, the US, and Israel, placing direct pressure on the local currency.
He added that many traders in the Kurdistan Region suffered significant losses, particularly those who had been holding large amounts of tomans in recent weeks.
1 Toman = 10 Rial
