Iran’s central bank governor Mohammadreza Farzin sought to reassure business leaders on Tuesday that the country’s foreign exchange and gold reserves remain secure as UN snapback sanctions loom later this month.
Speaking at a meeting with the National Entrepreneurs Assembly, Farzin said the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has “full security and access” to reserves held abroad and is preparing special measures to support exporters, ease access to hard currency and expand financing channels.
He announced plans for up to €200 million in sukuk Islamic bonds, new credit for export-oriented firms and a joint committee with entrepreneurs to resolve banking hurdles.
Farzin stressed that the CBI’s priority is to curb inflation and maintain financial stability, pledging that “all monetary and foreign exchange decisions will be taken with these objectives in mind.”
He also said the bank has introduced new instruments such as chain financing, gold-backed bonds and pre-sale of foreign currency to increase resilience in the market.
The remarks come as Iran braces for the automatic return of UN sanctions on September 28 after Britain, France and Germany triggered the mechanism last month.
The snapback would reinstate international restrictions suspended under the 2015 nuclear deal, compounding existing US and EU sanctions that have already slashed oil revenues and battered the rial.
Iran’s currency has tumbled past 1,038,000 rials per dollar on the open market, while inflation hovers near 50%.
Analysts warn that renewed sanctions could push inflation above 60–90% and deepen negative growth.
Despite official assurances, businesses say access to foreign exchange remains a critical obstacle, with many entrepreneurs urging structural reforms and clear rules for investors.
The central bank’s confidence message contrasts with mounting signs of distress, including protests over living costs, reports of suicides linked to financial hardship and warnings from experts that Iran’s energy and fiscal systems are at breaking point.
Abolfazl Zohrevand, a member of parliament’s national security committee, told domestic media that the delivery of MiG-29s was intended as an interim measure while Tehran awaits the arrival of Su-35s “as a long-term solution.”
“Russian MiG-29 fighter jets have arrived in Iran and are stationed in Shiraz, while Sukhoi Su-35 jets are also on the way,” he said.
He also said that China’s HQ-9 air defense system and Russia’s S-400 system were being supplied to Iran “in significant numbers.”
Neither Moscow nor Beijing has confirmed the reported deliveries.
Iran has long sought to modernize its aging air force, which relies heavily on US-made jets purchased before the 1979 revolution and a small number of Russian and locally upgraded aircraft.
State media reported in January that the first Sukhoi Su-35s were formally handed over to Iran, but officials have not clarified how many are operational.
Western analysts say Iran’s request for 50 aircraftremains only partly fulfilled, with deliveries slowed by Russia’s own needs in Ukraine.
Tehran also faces vulnerability in air defenses after Israeli strikes earlier this year destroyed its last Russian-provided S-300 systems. Iran had acquired the four S-300 battalions from Russia in 2016.
Born in 1967, Akbari allegedly used sedatives to kill her spouses, with the murders spanning the 1990s to the 2010s.
Arrested in September 2023 for attempting to murder her 82-year-old husband, she was caught after he grew suspicious and realized she was trying to kill him.
After several trial sessions, a court in Mazandaran in northern Iran sentenced Akbari to 10 death penalties.
Ten families demanded qisas (the eye-for-an-eye punishment, equivalent to the death penalty). The family of one victim agreed to forgo their right to qisas if she pays them blood money.
Akbari also received a 10-year sentence for an attempted murder.
She is the second known female serial killer in Iran, following Mahin Qadiri, who was executed in 2006 for murdering her seven husbands by poisoning them over 17 years.
