As the dollar surged toward 270,000 tomans on the open market in early October, the Central Bank stepped up its sales of hard currency. Tasnim acknowledged that the sales had produced only a temporary retreat and argued that adding supply alone could not solve the problem.

The bank then tried something more unusual: allowing every Iranian over 18 to buy up to $10,000 through selected banks using a national ID card. The stated goal was to pull demand away from the open market.

The scheme ran into criticism from inside the establishment. In parliament, Tehran MP Mehdi Koochakzadeh pointed out that buying the full allocation would require about 2.5 billion tomans, a sum far beyond ordinary households, Tasnim reported.

The episode illustrates a familiar outcome. Measures presented as broad public access to hard currency mainly benefit those who already hold capital, allowing them to protect their savings while wage earners absorb the devaluation. Each round of emergency intervention also draws down reserves the state needs for imports of food, medicine and industrial inputs.