The currency has been volatile for months because of a weak economy, financial difficulties at local banks and heavy demand for dollars among Iranians Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, said that the US had waged economic war on Iran LONDON: The Iranian rial hit a record low against the US dollar on the unofficial market on Wednesday, the local Tasnim news agency reported, amid a deterioration in the economic situation in Iran and the reimposition of sanctions by Washington. The dollar was being offered for as much as 170,000 rials, according to Tasnim. The rial has lost approximately 75 percent of its value since the beginning of 2018. The currency has been volatile for months because of a weak economy, financial difficulties at local banks and heavy demand for dollars among Iranians. They fear Washington pulling out from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal and US sanctions could shrink Iranian exports of oil and other goods.US sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry are due to take effect in November. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, in a speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, said that the US had waged “economic war” on Iran by reimposing unilateral sanctions. Iran’s parliament sacked the minister of economic affairs and finance and the minister of labor in August, the latest in a continuing shake-up of top economic personnel. Rouhani also replaced the head of the central bank in July.