US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent identified a government pressure campaign as the primary driver of volatility in Tehran's currency markets. The exchange rate for the US dollar on Iran's free market rose above 2.5 million rials on Tuesday, with the currency depreciating 3.64% overnight and 6.54% over the last 10 days. Other foreign currencies also climbed, with the euro exceeding 2.8 million rials, the British pound topping 3.3 million, and the UAE dirham reaching about 670,000 rials.

Bessent credited "Operation Economic Outcast" with degrading the Iranian regime's ability to fund terrorism and develop nuclear weapons. The rial reached a prior all-time low of 2.45 million per dollar on Monday and first breached 2 million per dollar on August 23. While Washington targets government funding, critics argue the sanctions force Iranian civilians into poverty by limiting access to medicine and food.