A leading conservative cleric urged the government to channel what he claimed was $30 billion in foreign currency and $40 billion in gold held by the public into Iran’s ailing economy.

“Measures must be taken to direct this... There are solutions for this, and I am ready to present them,” said Gholamreza Mesbahi Moghaddam, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council.

The Iranian rial’s dramatic fall continues to exacerbate the country’s economic crisis. On Wednesday, the rial was trading at over 780,000 to the US dollar.

This sharp decline, coupled with soaring inflation, has eroded the purchasing power of ordinary Iranians, leaving many struggling to afford basic goods and services.

Iran’s economic woes are further compounded by a severe energy crisis.

As Iran faces its most severe economic downturn in decades, the Iranian population’s resilience is being tested as never before, with increasing uncertainty about the government’s ability to manage the nation’s worsening crises.