Tehran, Iran – The US dollar continued its meteoric rise in the Iranian free market, reaching an all-time high on Saturday, July 18, 2026, breaking the 192,800 toman mark. This record surge comes amid economic instability and escalating security tensions in the region. Furthermore, the dollar surpassed the previous record of 190,000 tomans set on May 4.
The local currency declined against foreign currencies.
The surge wasn’t limited to the US dollar; it included a broad rally in other foreign currencies. The British pound jumped to 257,650 tomans, and the euro surpassed 219,000 tomans. This reflects a decline in confidence in the local currency amidst challenging regional conditions.
Worrying economic indicators
These monetary developments coincide with data released by the Iranian Statistics Center on the economy’s performance in 2025, which revealed near-stagnant growth. The GDP at constant prices (including oil sales) reached approximately 100.492 trillion rials, compared to 100.281 trillion rials in the previous year. This represents a slight increase of just 0.2%. However, excluding the oil sector, the national accounts paint a much bleaker picture. GDP fell to 75.942 trillion rials, compared to 76.161 trillion rials in the previous year, a contraction of 0.3%.
These figures confirm that the Iranian economy faces deep structural challenges. The decline in non-oil sectors has exacerbated inflationary pressures. Consequently, the domestic economy has found it difficult to absorb the shocks resulting from recent security tensions, as evidenced by the volatile performance of the currency market in Tehran.
