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The Sudden dive of Iranian currency against US dollar late last monthhas raised questions whether sanctions are undermining the Iranian civil society or its government. Thomas Edbrink wrote today in the Washington Postthat the currency crash was a recent sign of the pressures by the sanctions.

Iranian Rial dropped by 15 percent for the first time in ten years against the US dollar on September 25, raising fears whether it would continue to lose its value. Importers have been faced with shortage of foreign currency and money changers in the capital refuse to do business, sources in Tehran said. A former Iranian source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said Iran’s central bank, which has the largest foreign exchange reserves, has trouble transferring dollars from abroad because of sanctions.

Thierry Coville argued in World Policy this week that the sanctions are undermining the country’s civil society as higher costs will spread to the rest of the economy while the government has sufficient petrodollar to survive.

“It is the Iranian worker or member of the educated middle-class which will suffer from a higher inflation rate, if the rial depreciationgoes on,” wro... >>>