DUBAI, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Iran’s central bank governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, said on Tuesday that the country possesses adequate foreign currency reserves despite ongoing U.S. sanctions, countering remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Tehran is “lashing out” as it loses the economic battle.
Hemmati announced the bank’s readiness to inject up to $2 billion into the foreign‑exchange market to ease recent volatility, according to the semi‑official Tasnim news agency.
“I am telling the President of the United States: Iran has (foreign) currency and it has enough,” he added.
His comments were aimed at reassuring markets after Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, highlighted growing economic strain caused by sanctions and a naval blockade.
Hemmati said the central bank continues to collect foreign‑currency receivables and maintains domestic reserves and other resources, though he declined to disclose further details.
“I tell the people with complete honesty that economic conditions and livelihood management have become difficult, but collapse has never happened and will never happen. These claims are just psychological warfare and the dust will settle soon,” he said.
Iran’s rial fell to a record low in August, surpassing the psychological threshold of 2 million rials per U.S. dollar, while annual inflation peaked at 66% in July.
Bessent said on Monday that Iran was taking U.S. sanctions seriously and was “lashing out kinetically because they are losing economically.”
Washington has increasingly relied on economic pressure to compel Tehran to meet its demands, and Bessent warned that entities doing business with Iran could face U.S. sanctions.