Iran’s rial fell to a new low of 2.05 million per dollar on the open market as Tehran faced expanded US sanctions, an almost complete halt in oil exports and worsening shortages of food, medicine, fuel and energy. Iranians rushed to stockpile fuel and food after the Trump administration threatened tighter sanctions, while small demonstrations by oil workers, pensioners and teachers re-emerged over the declining currency and rising living costs. Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said the government was operating under a two-year plan and had the tools and experience to navigate sanctions, while officials promoted self-sufficiency and alternative trade with Russia, Central Asia and Gulf suppliers. President Donald Trump also indicated that sanctions against Chinese banks involved in Iranian transactions remained possible, although the Treasury’s August 25 package targeted more than 60 entities across digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping while excluding major Chinese state-backed financial institutions. China buys an estimated 80%-90% of Iran’s seaborne crude exports, making its financial institutions central to Iranian oil revenue flows. Iran says it produces 85% of its agricultural goods and 97% of its medicine, but food prices were 128% higher in July than a year earlier, nearly 1,000 medicines faced shortages in May, and purchasing power continued to decline. State-run farms linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps control about 65% of the country’s bitcoin-mining capacity, while Iranian miners have represented an estimated 3% to 7% of global bitcoin hash rate since 2019.