{"id":2651848,"date":"2026-08-30T06:27:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T10:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iranians-hoard-physical-assets-as-blockade-cuts-off-rial-alternatives\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T06:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T10:30:39","slug":"iranians-hoard-physical-assets-as-blockade-cuts-off-rial-alternatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iranians-hoard-physical-assets-as-blockade-cuts-off-rial-alternatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Iranians hoard physical assets as blockade cuts off rial alternatives"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Firanians-hoard-physical-assets-as-blockade-cuts-off-rial-alternatives%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2651848&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has shifted its approach to Iran from military actions to economic sanctions, aiming to weaken the country economically through \u201cOperation Economic Outcast,\u201d which has further devalued the Iranian rial. The rial,already volatile and largely worthless outside Iran due to longstanding US sanctions,has plummeted in value,with one dollar equating to over 2 million rial. Despite the currency&#8217;s collapse, Iran\u2019s economy continues to function, though worsening inflation and declining public trust have led many Iranians to hide their wealth in physical assets like gold, property, and cars rather of holding monetary assets.<\/p>\n<p>Since the onset of the conflict, Iran&#8217;s economy has been in crisis, marked by protests against financial hardship and the rapid devaluation of the rial.The US sanctions have tightened, cutting off Iran\u2019s access to foreign markets, including the black market for oil, which previously allowed Iran to circumvent sanctions somewhat. Consequently, Iran&#8217;s revenue from oil exports has diminished, exacerbating economic hardship.<\/p>\n<p>The US believes that increased economic pain might pressure Iran to negotiate or lead to regime change, but experts warn that the regime is prepared to suppress dissent violently.Iran is also facing challenges with high inflation, inflation reaching over 4 dollars in gas prices, and internal economic troubles.Despite efforts to open shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, the US has not engaged in negotiations, opting rather for continued economic pressure. the Iranian economy remains fragile, with no clear resolution in sight six months into the conflict.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"4\">Donald Trump\u2019s<\/a> administration has shifted from military might to financial muscle as it transforms the conflict with <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/iran\/\">Iran<\/a> into an \u201ceconomic war,\u201d and the Iranian rial is among the country\u2019s most vulnerable targets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even before the conflict, the volatile and devalued currency was among the biggest sources of unrest among Iranian citizens. Since a new round of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sanctions\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"787\">sanctions<\/a> has come through, the rial is beginning to look a lot like monopoly money on the international marketplace.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4704413\/iranians-hoard-alternative-currencies-physical-assests-worthless-rial\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Iranians hoard currencies and physical assets as blockade cuts off alternatives to worthless rial<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4705316\/ukraine-reveals-intelligence-russia-planning-new-ground-offensive\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Ukraine reveals intelligence that Russia is planning new ground offensive on capital<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4705148\/nepal-survivors-nearly-3000-missing\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Nepal-China flood survivors reach safe areas as families await news of nearly 3,000 missing<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alex Vatanka \u2014 a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute who specializes in Iran \u2014 told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that while the rial is \u201cstill the currency of everyday business,\u201d public faith in the tender is all but gone. Long-standing U.S. sanctions have ensured that the currency is accepted virtually nowhere outside the national borders, and its domestic volatility makes it a poor store of value.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe economy is still functioning in the sense that there\u2019s a central government, it still has revenue, and some of that revenue still is being distributed to society [but] it\u2019s not enough,\u201d he explained. \u201cPeople are getting gradually poorer and poorer, the middle class is shrinking. \u2029The teachers are being paid [less], the pensioners are being paid less and less. And the big question for the regime is: how much more tightening of the belt can they engage in before there isn\u2019t any more left?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before Operation Epic Fury began, the Iranian economy was already in dire straits. Popular uprisings spilled into the streets from December 2025 into January as common citizens protested a financial crisis that was driving their families into destitution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the heart of the turmoil was the collapse of the rial. Rendered unusable overseas and subject to rapid inflation due to policy missteps in Tehran, a single U.S. dollar was worth 1.42 million rial. A brutal crackdown ensued, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4418070\/iran-signals-fast-trials-and-executions-for-protesters\/\">violently quashing<\/a> the protests.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Iran has proven unwilling to bend despite the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4415194\/islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-global-threat-without-ali-khamenei\/\">decapitation of its leadership<\/a> and widespread destruction of military infrastructure, the U.S. government has sought to twist the knife on the economy and inspire citizens to return to the streets to topple the weakened regime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump launched \u201cOperation Economic Outcast\u201d on Monday \u2014 a fresh schedule of sanctions that aims to isolate the Iranian regime utterly and thrust the country into further economic collapse. Those sanctions plunged the currency to an all-time low, with one U.S. dollar worth over 2 million rial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question is whether this mass erasure of wealth will be enough to get Iranians back out of their homes and into the streets at the risk of their own lives.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy pursuing Operation Economic Outcast, the president believes that inflicting economic pain will force the collapse of the regime\u2014or at a minimum render Iranian leaders more amenable to negotiation,\u201d a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/articles\/the-iran-war-at-six-months-a-region-and-its-relationship-with-the-u-s-transformed\">report released Friday <\/a>by the Council on Foreign Relations stated. \u201cBut Trump may be overstating the potential effect of more economic pain. After all, the economic situation for most Iranians has been bad for years and has only gotten worse since the beginning of the war.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It continued, \u201cThe defenders of the Islamic Republic will not come unprepared. They have already demonstrated a willingness to kill, arrest, and otherwise suppress their own citizens who are seeking change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vatanka told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that some Iranians are trying to beat the economic collapse quietly by parking their wealth in \u201cphysical, tangible assets\u201d and basically \u201canything other than the rial.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe dollar is the king in Iran. Gold is king,\u201d he told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cPeople will buy property. Tehran has property prices that are comparable to Geneva, Oslo \u2014 some of the most expensive places worldwide \u2014 because people put their money in brick and mortar because it\u2019s safe. Not the rial, because it depreciates. They buy cars \u2026 because it\u2019s a physical entity that you can take to the market at some point and sell regardless of whether the rial has depreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The situation is exacerbated by the U.S. blockade on Iranian oil exports. Tehran has previously been able to generate modest revenue by circumventing sanctions using foreign-flagged ships and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4699504\/china-iran-us-economic-warfare-no-solution\/\">selling the oil to countries such as China<\/a>, with black-market refineries processing the product.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the blockade, that black market has dried up, and with it, access to payments in foreign currencies, assets such as gold, and even <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cryptocurrency\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1699\">cryptocurrencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conflict in Iran has reached the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4704269\/trump-six-months-iran-war-little-fanfare\/\">six-month mark<\/a>, and there are still no signs of a resolution on the horizon. Iran and Oman have signed on to a proposal that would open two-way shipping lanes through the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/strait-of-hormuz\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"21488\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a> and reopen the critical waterway.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >small boat sails past cargo ships<\/a> and other commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi\/ISNA via AP)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/08\/localimages\/AP26218279433565.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A small boat sails past cargo ships and other commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi\/ISNA via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. has not signed on to that deal, and White House officials appear uninterested in deal-making at the moment as they lean into this \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4700382\/rubio-refrain-us-strikes-for-the-time-being-iran-economic-secondary-sanctions\/\">economic war<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance-and-economy\/4704173\/six-months-iran-war-gas-prices-above-4-dollars\/\">GAS PRICES REMAIN ABOVE $4 SIX MONTHS INTO IRAN WAR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey\u2019re not paying their troops. They\u2019re in deep trouble. They have very little capacity,\u201d Trump said of Iran on Thursday. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to speak to them. We\u2019re not looking to meet or anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The president\u2019s remarks specifically highlighted the \u201cmassive <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/inflation\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"728\">inflation<\/a>\u201d plaguing Iran, saying that he has \u201cno time schedule\u201d for solving the conflict as their \u201ceconomy is falling apart.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump shifts Iran conflict to economic war, targeting rial<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2651849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22357588236786.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[78862,45628,84870,84869],"class_list":["post-2651848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-currency-crisis","tag-economic-sanctions","tag-financial-instability","tag-iranian-assets"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22357588236786.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2651848"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2651852,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651848\/revisions\/2651852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2651849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2651848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2651848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2651848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}