Iran’s currency falls to record low after nationwide protests

 

 

 

IRAN’S currency, the rial, fell on Tuesday to a record low of 1.5 million to USD 1 after nationwide protests sparked by the country’s economic woes. Exchange shops offered the rate as Iran still reels under international sanctions, particularly over its nuclear program, and mismanagement by government officials. The protests in Iran began on December 28, sparked by the fall of the Iranian currency, the rial, and quickly spread across the country. They were met by a violent crackdown by Iran’s theocracy, the scale of which is only starting to become clear as the country has faced more than two weeks of internet blackout - the most comprehensive in its history. Activists said on Tuesday that at least 6,126 people were killed in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests and many more are still feared dead. The new figures came from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in multiple rounds of unrest in Iran. The group verifies each death with a network of activists on the ground in Iran. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll given authorities cutting off the internet and disrupting calls into the Islamic Republic. Iran’s Government has put the death toll at a far lower 3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces, and labelled the rest “terrorists.” In the past, Iran’s theocracy has undercounted or not reported fatalities from unrest.