Parliament okays plan to slash four zeros from national currency
Iran’s Parliament on Sunday approved a long-debated plan to remove four zeros from the national currency, the rial, aiming to facilitate financial transactions and make banknotes more “functional.”
Lawmakers approved parts of an amended monetary and banking reform bill returned by the Guardian Council, with 144 votes in favor, 108 against and three abstentions out of 263 lawmakers present, IRNA reported.
Under the law, the rial will remain the official currency, with each rial equivalent to 100 qerans.
According to head of the Economic Committee of the parliament, the measure’s main purpose is to “make banknotes more functional and facilitate financial transactions.”
On the sideline of the parliamentary session, Shamseddin Hosseini told reporters, “The Central Bank has two years to prepare the groundwork for the redenomination plan and to carry out public awareness campaigns. After that, a three-year transition period is planned, during which old and new banknotes will circulate simultaneously.”
The plan — first proposed by the government in 2019 and discussed across three administrations and parliamentary terms — has undergone multiple revisions. The latest version retains the rial as Iran’s official currency, dropping earlier proposals to rename it the toman.
The head of economic policies at the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said on Sunday that a national committee chaired by the president will be established to oversee implementation of the plan.
“Preparing the necessary infrastructure for implementation requires a two-year period,” Ja’far Mehdizadeh said, adding that after the law is passed and promulgated, an executive bylaw must first be drafted, approved by the CBI’s Supreme Board, and then endorsed by the government.
Mehdizadeh said preliminary steps began in 2019, when four zeros were faded on the note design, and some operational measures have already been taken, allowing authorities to meet the timeline for full implementation.
He stressed that the scope of the plan extends beyond issuing new banknotes, involving broader legal aspects, accounting adjustments, and software updates to ensure the transition is carried out effectively.
According to the new law, after the transition period, all financial obligations denominated in the current rial will be settled using the new unit.