President Rouhani sends a bill to Majlis (parliament), requesting to change 10,000 rials into one toman; US sanctions are devastating the Iranian economy; If finalized, this change is expected to cost Iran approx. IR19.2 trillion, or $160 million according to the current exchange rate.
This week, in a move to try and salvage what’s left of their crippling economy, President Hassan Rouhani presented a bill to Majlis (parliament), requesting to change the Iranian currency from rials to toman. This news comes largely as a result of the devastating sanctions that the United States has imposed on Iran. This request has been a thought-in-process that was actually approved by the president’s cabinet on August 4. Currently, the exchange rate is sitting at about IR42,000 to one US dollar.
While President Rouhani and his cabinet may see this as a solution to the downward economic spiral they are finding themselves in; history is not in their favor. They have some immediate issues facing them should the bill even pass:
- Parliament has up to two years to consider the bill, which is not guaranteed to pass.
- Timing is not in their favor, as parliamentary elections are approx. a year away.
- While this change may ease the burden of daily life, it’s expected to lead to higher inflation by the retail shops who can capitalize on this exchange and increase their prices.
While the Iranian leadership remains hostile toward the United States, the real victim in all of this is the blue-collar Iranian. It may surprise you to find that the average Iranian prefers peace with the US; it’s the leadership which remains stubborn, even if it means the demise of their people.
Where is this Going?
The prophet Ezekiel spoke of a day when Iran (Persia) would collaborate with Turkey & Russia, and the three nations, accompanied by others from Africa, would invade the land of Israel for economic purposes. Never in history have these “big three” had an alliance-that is, until recent years. What do these three countries all share in common today? A crippling economy. When nations are desperate, they make desperate decisions. What you see with Iran is another desperate step to salvage its economy. Even if they’re temporarily successful, which is unlikely, a day is coming when they, along with Russia & Turkey, will be so desperate, and the inevitable invasion will begin. It’s worth noting that Israel has one of the best economies in the world (surrounded by nations who do not), and Russia, Iran & Turkey are entrenched in Syria, which borders the mountains of Israel.
10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, 11 and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, 12 to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’ 13 Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will say to you, ‘Have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil?’”’
14 “Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it? 15 You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army; 16 and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.”
