One US dollar now costs 2 million rials in Iran, and here’s what it can buy - Al Jazeera

**Iran’s Dollar Hits 2 Million Rials – What a U.S. Dollar Can Actually Purchase**

*Tehran, 26 August 2026* – After a series of U.S. sanctions that re‑targeted Iran’s oil‑related sectors and restricted access to the SWIFT financial network, the Iranian rial has slumped to an unprecedented 2 million rials per U.S. dollar on the parallel market, according to Al Jazeera’s latest exchange‑rate tracker. The official rate, which the government still publishes for state‑controlled transactions, lags far behind at roughly 500 000 rials per dollar, underscoring the widening gap between state policy and market reality. The devaluation accelerated in the first half of 2024, when the Central Bank of Iran removed four zeros from the currency and introduced a new “rial” to simplify accounting, but the move failed to stem the loss of confidence sparked by renewed U.S. secondary‑sanction threats on entities dealing with Iran.

In practical terms, a single U.S. dollar now buys only a handful of everyday items. Al Jazeera’s price list shows that $1 can purchase a 20‑gram pack of cigarettes, a 0.5‑litre bottle of mineral water, a single newspaper, or a 100‑gram bag of domestic rice – each priced at roughly 2 million rials. Even basic services feel the pinch: a short taxi ride in Tehran costs the equivalent of $2, while a refill of a prepaid mobile line requires about $3. The drastic reduction in purchasing power has pushed many Iranians into cash‑only transactions and intensified reliance on barter trade, especially for essential goods such as food and medicine.

The plunge of the rial is part of a broader economic squeeze that Tehran is attempting to navigate through a mixture of policy adjustments and external partnerships. While the United States has recently sanctioned four India‑based firms and three Indian nationals for allegedly facilitating Iran’s illicit oil sales, New Delhi is quietly maintaining its rice exports to Tehran, hoping to preserve a strategic foothold in the region despite Washington’s pressure. Simultaneously, oil analysts at *The Hindu* warn that global crude prices could climb above $100 a barrel this winter, a development that could further strain Iran’s already cash‑starved budget but also offer a potential windfall if Tehran can find buyers willing to circumvent sanctions. In the meantime, the Iranian government continues to promote “national currency” settlements and seeks to deepen trade ties with non‑Western partners to mitigate the impact of U.S. financial isolation.