Dollar at 180,000 tomans and 73% inflation

What he says

An English translation of the talk, which is in Persian. It was made with AI from YouTube's automatic captions and may contain errors; the Persian transcript is authoritative. Click a timestamp to jump to that part of the video.

0:01 Hello. Today is Wednesday, 9 Ordibehesht 1405, April 29, 2026. Today the dollar reached 180,000 tomans on the open currency market, and the regime, as usual, instead of addressing the real causes, decided to erase the problem itself. They raided the exchange shops and announced that publishing the exchange rate is prohibited. In short, they are trying to hide the reality of the country's economy. Meanwhile, figures published by the Central Bank show that inflation on consumer goods compared with the month of Esfand averaged 5 percent, and that is even within the basket of goods

1:04 that are subsidized. Inflation compared with Farvardin of last year has passed 73.5 percent on goods and items people consume. So we can see that the economic pressure on people's livelihoods has increased. This inflation is a real phenomenon, the result of supply and demand and of the functioning of the country's economy, and in fact it reflects gross domestic product and other factors. Its outcome shows up in, among other goods, foreign currency, namely the dollar, whose real rate is in fact that same 180,000 tomans that the regime is trying

1:56 to hide. Interestingly, in transactions between people, distrust is another element that has been added to the situation of the country and its economy. As a result, cash has gained value, and some shopkeepers and merchants charge, say, 100,000 tomans if you pay by bank card, but if you pay in cash you can pay, say, 90,000 tomans. A market has also emerged for the banks' cash cheques, which people apparently no longer trust: by discounting them and reducing their so-called nominal, on-paper value,

2:54 some people give cash in exchange for them and in effect take on the risk of the banks' cash cheques losing their credibility. All this clearly shows that the war has had effects on Iran's economy that are showing up in the marketplace, in people's transactions, in the real economy. The pressure on people's livelihoods is mounting, given the billions upon billions of dollars of damage the country has suffered, the prospect of unemployment for more than 4 million of the country's workers, and uncertainty about the future: either war breaks out again, or this current state of neither war nor peace and the naval blockade continue,

3:55 or even if peace comes, rebuilding the country and getting the wheels of the economy turning again will put extraordinary pressure on the people. Massive waves of economic pressure are foreseeable, especially on the lower seven income deciles of the country, who are below the poverty line of 30 million tomans a month. If the regime wants to come to the people's aid, the reality is that it must give the roughly 20 million households who fall below the poverty line, making up more than 60 million of the country's population, a monthly payment per household

4:50 equivalent to $400 as a subsidy or living allowance so that they can live, and in fact so that they can survive. Such a measure has precedents in times of crisis. For example, during the COVID period in America, $200 checks were sent to every household, to people's homes. There have been other precedents too, and even now there are funds like the Alaska oil fund, which gives $1,000 to each household, or the Norwegian fund, which is famous all over the world. It has precedents in other countries as well. A plan for how exactly people could be helped in this regard

5:53 is a subject we can take up on later nights. I will just make this point, which I have mentioned before: the institutions under the supervision of the Leader and the Leader's office alone, namely the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order headquarters, the Mostazafan Foundation, Astan Quds Razavi and other institutions, plus the institutions the IRGC has seized and controls, if we just add these two items together, more than $200 billion of the country's wealth is there, and it could be the main backing and the main source for helping the people in these difficult economic conditions. We will talk more about this, about how it is feasible, and this is where one can in fact judge the difference between a popular government and a kleptocratic government that is an enemy of the people.

6:55 Now, after Mr. Araghchi's trip to Moscow, it has been reported in news circles that Iran has proposed to Moscow to transfer 400 kilograms of 60 percent enriched uranium to Russia, to be held there in trust and returned to Iran if war breaks out. And Russia, Mr. Putin, today had a phone conversation with Trump lasting an hour and a half, in which he probably raised this very plan. Of course, they also talked about Ukraine. According to the Russian side, Mr. Putin said that a ground operation in Iran would be unacceptable and dangerous.

7:50 Mr. Trump, for his part, said, "I told Putin I would prefer that he focus on a ceasefire in Ukraine," and in effect gave a cold response to Iran's proposal via Russia. On the other hand, in a meeting with executives of the American oil industry, from whom he is asking for help, the big oil companies, to perhaps calm and control the oil market in America and the world, Mr. Trump stated that he may extend the naval blockade of Iran for several months until an agreement is reached. Iran, on the other hand, has said it will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed until the naval blockade is lifted.

8:43 In fact, the three stages we mentioned before are these: the naval blockade is lifted and peace is made; then talks on security in the strait and possibly collecting tolls and so on; and after that, they are willing to talk about the nuclear issue. Meanwhile, Axios has reported that CENTCOM is reviewing plans for rapid strikes on Iran's infrastructure. On the other side, Press TV, the Islamic Republic's English-language television, quoting a senior security official who did not want his name disclosed, said that an unprecedented military action is on Iran's agenda, which it will carry out if the naval blockade continues. Mr. Alaeddin

9:43 Boroujerdi, a member of the Majlis National Security Committee, also referred to Bab el-Mandeb on Islamic Republic television, saying that Bab el-Mandeb is no less important than the Strait of Hormuz and that the Yemenis are waiting to act; in effect, he issued a threat. All these tensions once again threw the oil market into turmoil, and today North Sea Brent crude, which is usually used as the benchmark, reached $117 a barrel. Mr. Hegseth, the US Secretary of Defense, also answered representatives' questions in Congress, and in response to a question about the cost of this war, the person accompanying him, the so-called financial director, stated that

10:43 $25 billion has been spent on this war. There were also clashes between Mr. Hegseth and Democratic representatives, who grilled him harshly, and he in turn attacked them sharply. Meanwhile, Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation, who had traveled to Canada at the head of a delegation to attend the FIFA Congress, was not allowed to enter Toronto because Canada has placed the IRGC on its list of terrorist organizations and Mr. Taj has a history of IRGC membership. This led the entire Iranian delegation to give up on the Congress altogether and return. With this, the question has been raised again of

11:48 the World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico, where Iran's group-stage matches will be in Los Angeles and Seattle, both in America: will Iran's team go at all or not? Once again, participation in the World Cup has been called into question after what happened in Canada. In hope of victory for Iran and Iranians.