Iran okays plan to remove four zeros from currency

Iran’s parliament on Sunday passed a long-delayed proposal to remove four zeros from the national currency, the rial, as the country struggles with renewed international sanctions and a rapidly depreciating exchange rate.

According to the legislature’s official website, lawmakers approved the measure two months after a parliamentary commission revived the plan, which aims to simplify financial transactions.

Under the new system, 10,000 current rials will be replaced by one new rial, with both currencies circulating for up to three years. The Central Bank of Iran will have two years to implement the transition.

The rial has continued to lose value in recent days, falling to around 1,115,000 to the US dollar on Sunday — a sharp drop from roughly 920,000 when the proposal was reintroduced in early August, according to informal market data.

The move comes amid the reimposition of United Nations sanctions on Iran, following the decision by Britain, France, and Germany to trigger the “snapback” mechanism over Tehran’s non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

The redenomination plan was first introduced in 2019 but was later put on hold. It now awaits approval from the Guardian Council and the signature of President Masoud Pezeshkian before taking effect.

In daily transactions, Iranians commonly use the toman, which equals ten rials, as an informal unit of currency — effectively dropping one zero from the rial in everyday pricing.