American sanctions on Iran helped drop the Islamic Republic's chief currency to its lowest value ever, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
Iran's currency now trades at 300,000 rials to a single American dollar, depreciating in value by a third since its previous all-time low in June and by more than 12 percent since only mid-September.
Iran's currency was valued at 32,000 rials to the dollar following the Iran nuclear deal agreement in 2015.
Washington's crippling sanctions, along with Iran's mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic, have precipitated Tehran's financial nosedive.
Among other things, the sanctions target Iran's oil exports, which have flattened in 2020. Just in August, U.S. naval forces interdicted Iranian oil cargo headed to financially devastated Venezuela.
Although Washington's "maximum pressure" campaign has long been a focus of the White House, the Trump administration has taken even more intense measures against Iran in recent weeks. Last month, the State Department reinstated "snapback" sanctions on Tehran and sanctioned members of Iran's judicial system over the execution of Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari. Congressional Republicans are also pushing for harsh sanctions against Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, the Washington Free Beacon reported Thursday.
Last week, special Iran envoy Elliott Abrams explained the success of Washington's sanctions during congressional testimony.
"Our efforts to disrupt the regime's ability to carry out its malicious agenda have met with real success," Abrams said. "By any measure, the Iranian regime is weaker today than when President Trump took office. The regime faces unprecedented and worsening economic and political crises that are exacerbated by the poor choices the regime makes in an effort to advance its radical ideology."