LONDON: Iran announced on Sunday a plan to ease foreign exchange rules, state television reported, as Tehran tries to counter the effects of a plunging currency and prepares to face new US sanctions.
The plan lifts a ban on the sale of hard currency at floating rates by exchange shops for purposes such as overseas travel, according to Reuters News Agency. Exporters would be allowed to sell hard currency to importers, and there would be no limit on bringing currency or gold into the country.
Hard currency will be made available at a subsidized rate for purchases of basic goods and medicine, state television quoted a government statement about the plan as saying.
The news came shortly after the Iranian central bank’s top foreign exchange official had been arrested, according to the judiciary, a day after he was sacked and as tensions rise ahead of reimposed US sanctions.
Agence France Presse reported that Ahmad Araghchi, who was a vice-governor at the bank in charge of forex, was arrested along with several other unnamed individuals including a government clerk and four currency brokers, said judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejeie in a statement, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
The arrests come amid heightened tensions in the run-up to the reimposition of US sanctions on Tuesday, following Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.
Journalists reported a heavy build-up of riot police on Sunday night, including at least one armored personnel carrier, in the town of Karaj, just west of Tehran, that has seen days of often-violent protests.
State media said protesters attacked and tried to burn down a seminary in the area on Friday night, and that at least one person was killed, allegedly by demonstrators.
There have been days of sporadic protests, including in key cities such as Isfahan, Mashhad and Shiraz — but severe reporting restrictions have made it impossible to verify social media footage and official accounts.
The embattled government of President Hassan Rouhani has also faced heavy criticism from conservative opponents, who have demanded action on corruption and renewed efforts to rescue the economy.
On Saturday, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani, one of the country’s top religious figures, said “economic corruptors” must face justice.
“People are upset when they hear that someone has embezzled billions while other people are living in tough conditions,” he said in a speech, according to the conservative Tasnim news agency.
Araghchi, a nephew of deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, was fired by the new governor of the central bank on Saturday, apparently over his handling of the currency crisis.
Iran’s rial has lost more than half its value since April, in part over fears of renewed sanctions, but also thanks to an ill-judged attempt to fix the value of the rial that month and make it illegal to trade at a higher rate.
That decision triggered widespread currency speculation on the black market, and accusations that individuals with political connections were abusing the system.
Rouhani sacked the governor of the central bank, Valiollah Seif, last week and replaced him with Abdolnasser Hemati, the former head of Central Insurance of Iran.
Hemati is due to unveil a new foreign exchange policy on Monday, a day after it was approved by the government.
IRIB reported that the new policy is expected to see imports of essential items, including medicines, remain at the official government exchange rate of 42,000 rials to the dollar.
The unofficial rate for the rial fell to a record 119,000 last week, before rallying in response to the government’s efforts to address the crisis, and stood at 98,500 on Sunday night.
Iran braces for deepening economic crisis ahead of new US sanctions
Iran braces for deepening economic crisis ahead of new US sanctions
- Iran announced on Sunday a plan to ease foreign exchange rules
- Iranian central bank’s top foreign exchange official arrested
Saudi Arabia exports 1st industrial water treatment plant with nanotechnology to Europe
JEDDH: Saudi Arabia’s GI Aqua Tech is set to export its first industrial wastewater treatment plant using nanotechnology in early 2026, the company’s CEO, Sherif Desouky, told Al Eqtisadiah.
The project, which operates on a per-cubic-meter treatment system, is valued at approximately €5 million ($5.9 million), with the first plant set for France, marking the first nanotechnology-based water treatment and reuse system manufactured and exported from Saudi Arabia to the world.
Expanding exports to GCC states in Q1 2026
These plants are designed for 100 percent reuse of industrial wastewater, and the expansion plan includes exporting several units to Bahrain and other Gulf countries with a combined capacity of 10,000 cubic meters in the first quarter of next year.
Desouky noted that the plant being exported to France will be installed at a cosmetics manufacturing facility, one of the most challenging industries for wastewater treatment.
Previously, wastewater had to be collected and transported for incineration at high costs, but nanotechnology now allows on-site treatment and reuse with higher operational efficiency.
He added that the technology directly contributes to reducing liquid waste disposal costs, saving up to 80 percent of energy, and replacing conventional disposal with reuse solutions compliant with strict environmental standards.
Desouky stated that the technology was fully developed and manufactured in Saudi Arabia with government support, enabling the project to move from local implementation to exports to European and global markets.
The plant, located in Al-Kharj Industrial City under the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones, known as Modon, spans 23,000 sq. meters and is the first in the Middle East to combine nanomaterial production with wastewater treatment plant manufacturing, according to Desouky.
Investments reach €150m, with 50 percent of workforce Saudi nationals
The CEO explained that the project investments are expected to reach €150 million upon completion, with 54 percent of the workforce currently Saudi nationals.
He added that the technology has already been deployed across major projects in Saudi Arabia, successfully integrating large volumes of industrial and sanitary wastewater, including at Riyadh’s Third Industrial Area, where it achieved 100 percent water reuse in a global first.
He added that while Modon allocated 40,000 sq. meters for the project, the technology required only 4,000 sq. meters, allowing the remaining land to be transformed into a public park irrigated entirely with treated, odor-free water, underscoring the high environmental standards achieved.
Decentralized plants in areas not connected to sewage networks
Desouky highlighted the world’s first decentralized nanotechnology wastewater treatment plant within a residential neighborhood in Al-Mousa district, northern Jeddah.
He explained that the plant was constructed and became operational in just 10 days to address the issue of areas not connected to the central sewage network, which previously relied on tankers, and it now serves 8,000 residents.
This model represents a global first as a rapid solution for water and environmental crises, with the added advantage that the plant can later be relocated without leaving any negative impact.
According to the CEO, applications of the technology have also included the world’s largest plant for treating concrete factory wastewater in Neom and the Samhan Hotel plant in Riyadh, which has successfully treated all types of hotel wastewater for a year, including kitchen, laundry, and blackwater — not just greywater, as is common in hotels.
He added that this has opened avenues for collaboration with the global Marriott chain, noting that exporting this technology allows Saudi Arabia to achieve record energy savings of 80 percent, reduce space requirements by 90 percent, and ensure water meets the highest quality standards.
