Iran’s Central Bank Governor Mohammad Farzin has submitted his resignation amid a steep depreciation of the national currency, the rial, according to Mohammad Mehdi Tabatabai, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration for Public Affairs. His remarks were reported by Nour News.
Tabatabai said the resignation still requires final approval from the president. “The president may accept the resignation, but the final decision will be made based on broader macroeconomic considerations,” he noted.
He later clarified that President Masoud Pezeshkian has decided to appoint Abdolnaser Hemmati as the new head of the Central Bank. Hemmati previously served as Minister of Economy and earlier headed the Central Bank under former President Hassan Rouhani.
Tabatabai attributed the sharp rise of the dollar to the overall condition of Iran’s economy as well as to temporary turbulence in the foreign exchange market, which he said is expected to subside.
“Exchange rate management is not limited to changing the Central Bank governor alone. The government has already taken concrete steps to manage the situation and protect public welfare,” he added.
According to Tasnim news agency, an emergency meeting of the government’s economic team was convened at the Central Bank to address currency regulation and social welfare issues.
In recent weeks, the Iranian rial has plunged sharply, driving up gold prices. On Sunday, the currency hit a new all-time low of around 1,420,000 rials per dollar. Earlier this spring, the rial fell below the psychological threshold of 1 million per dollar amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Previously, President Pezeshkian signed a decree on redenomination of the national currency, removing four zeros so that 10,000 rials will equal one new rial.
