Iranian rial is now 50% down since President Pezeshkian took office last year By Investing.com

Investing.com -- The Forex exclusive trading platform downloadIranian rial fell below the significant level of 1,000,000 rial per U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as market participants anticipated continued sanctions under the "maximum pressure" campaign renewed by U.S. President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.

The currency reached a new low of 1,039,000 rial to the U.S. dollar, according to data from Iranian exchanges gathered by Bonbast.com. This marks a more than 50% decrease in the currency’s value since President Masoud Pezeshkian took office last year.

Earlier this month, Trump stated that he sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, indicating that Iran’s nuclear program could be addressed either through negotiations or military intervention.

Khamenei declined the U.S. proposal for talks, labeling it a "deception", and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated last week that negotiations with Washington would be impossible unless its policy changed.

This apparent diplomatic impasse has heightened fears of potential conflict. However, Iranian officials have aimed to alleviate such concerns. "I am certain there won’t be any war as we are fully prepared for such condition... so that no one will think about attacking Iran," Araqchi said on Monday, during a meeting with the Iranian Red Crescent.

With an annual inflation rate around 40%, Iranians looking for secure places to store their savings have been purchasing dollars, other strong currencies, or gold, indicating further challenges for the rial.

In 2018, the Iranian rial was around 55,000 to the U.S. dollar, when U.S. sanctions were reinstated by the first Trump administration to push Tehran to the negotiating table by limiting its oil exports and access to foreign currency.

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