Iran’s Post-Protest Economy: Asset Seizures, Government Policy, and a Fragile Pause in the Currency Slide

The country’s economic landscape has entered a tense interim phase, marked by a combination of coercive measures against dissent and renewed efforts by the government to project economic control.

In the aftermath of Iran’s recent nationwide protests, the country’s economic landscape has entered a tense interim phase, marked by a combination of coercive measures against dissent and renewed efforts by the government to project economic control and stabilization.

Alongside violent repression on the streets, Iranian authorities have increasingly relied on economic pressure as a tool of deterrence. Judicial officials have announced investigations, prosecutions, and potential asset seizures targeting individuals accused of supporting the protests, including business owners, athletes, artists, and other public figures. Prosecutors have framed these actions as a means of compensating protest-related damages, while critics argue they are designed primarily to intimidate economically-active segments of society.

At the same time, the government has moved to reassert its economic narrative, emphasizing policy reform rather than crisis. Central to this effort are recent changes in exchange-rate and subsidy policy. The Minister of Economy has defended the elimination of preferential exchange rates, arguing that the multi-rate system fueled corruption, rent-seeking, and capital leakage, while failing to protect consumers. Under the new approach, the government claims subsidies are being redirected directly to households, particularly lower-income deciles, through cash transfers and consumption credits.

According to the minister, increased currency supply, tighter market oversight, and the removal of distortive incentives have helped calm what officials describe as “market hype.” He has argued that some price increases were driven by uncertainty and expectations, and that as expectations stabilize, the benefits of reform will gradually become visible.

This official optimism coincides with a temporary halt in the rapid depreciation of the rial. During the height of the protests, the U.S. dollar surged to roughly 142000 toman on the open market. In the weeks following the crackdown, the rate has stopped climbing and has hovered around 138,000–140,000 tomans. While this pause has been presented by officials as evidence of improving conditions, the level itself remains extraordinarily high and reflects a severe loss of purchasing power.

The government has also pointed to continued availability of basic goods and easing pressures in select markets, insisting that strategic reserves remain sufficient and that recent disruptions were temporary. Officials argue that maintaining control over the currency market and enforcing fiscal discipline are essential steps toward reducing inflation and narrowing the budget deficit.

Yet the broader context complicates these claims. The same period of relative currency calm has been accompanied by prolonged internet disruptions, which have severely constrained digital commerce and services, as well as by growing uncertainty over property rights amid threats of confiscation. For many businesses and households, this has limited the real impact of stabilization policies and reinforced caution rather than confidence.

In this sense, Iran’s post-protest economy is defined by a fragile equilibrium. The state has managed to pause the immediate free fall of the currency and advance long-delayed policy changes, while simultaneously expanding economic coercion to deter dissent. Whether the current calm can translate into durable stability will depend not on official assurances, but on restoring predictability, legal security, and public trust—all of which remain deeply strained after the protests.