According to Qatar News Agency, the Iranian cabinet has approved a bill to remove four zeros from the national currency during a Sunday session, following extensive discussions in which the measure won the support of a majority of members.
As reported by Tasnim News Agency, the rial will remain Iran’s official currency, with the new rial equal to 10,000 current rials and divided into 100 qerans.
The agency added that the parliament’s Economic Committee had approved the proposal last week with the aim of simplifying financial transactions.
According to bne IntelliNews, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said the plan includes adopting the toman and qeran as official units of currency, with a gradual transition that allows both the old and new systems to be used for a period.
Mohajerani stressed that the move is part of monetary reforms aimed at facilitating transactions and easing accounting burdens on individuals and institutions, but emphasized that the transition would be cautious and carefully managed to avoid any market disruptions.
Iran International reported that the bill still requires approval by the full parliament and then must be submitted to the Guardian Council before it can become law.
The outlet noted that Iran’s economy faces deep challenges, with the rial losing over 90% of its value since the reimposition of U.S. sanctions in 2018. Annual inflation reached 38.7% in May 2025 and has not dropped below 30% in recent years.
According to Al Jazeera Net, the Iranian currency recorded a new all-time low today, breaking the psychological barrier of one million rials to the U.S. dollar, reaching about 1.039 million rials compared to around 55,000 rials per dollar in 2018.
It added that Iranians are turning to gold and foreign currencies as safe havens for their savings, amid continued U.S. sanctions and the “maximum pressure” policy reinstated by U.S. President Donald Trump.
In defense of the decision, West Asia News Agency (WANA) quoted Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin as saying that removing four zeros from the currency is one of the year’s most important initiatives and a necessary step to improve the international image of the rial and make cash transactions easier. He noted that similar measures have been implemented in several countries with positive results.
Conversely, economist Mehdi Darabi, as reported by WANA, said current conditions do not justify such a move in the absence of economic reforms and a significant reduction in inflation.
According to WANA, the idea of removing zeros is not new to Iran’s economy, having been proposed repeatedly over the past three decades, but political and economic conditions have delayed its implementation.
While some officials see it as the beginning of restoring confidence in the national currency, other experts describe it as a cosmetic adjustment that will not stop the currency’s erosion unless the root causes of the economic crisis are addressed.
