According to an article in Tehran Times dated 7 April 2011, Mahmoud Bahmani, the governor of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said the bank has begun studying plans to remove four zeros from the rial, and will seek approval from the Monetary and Credit Council within six months. Meanwhile, the Finance and Economy Minister, Shamseddin Hosseini, recently said the bank is planning to remove three zeros from the currency within the current calendar year which started on March 21. Currently Iran’s largest banknote is the 100,000-rial note (US$9.60), although it has also issued note-like cheques in denominations ten times that amount.

Iran has been discussing revaluing the rial for years, so it’s anyone’s guess as to whether anything will come of this latest announcement.

Tags: Iran