TEHRAN, Iran — When it comes to financial security for Iran’s jittery public after the 12-day war with Israel, all that glitters is gold — and for many, it remains the most trusted hedge against inflation, sanctions and a weakening rial currency.
Traders in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar say every new headline about United Nations “snapback” sanctions, the rial’s fall or renewed regional tensions have sent waves of people into buying so-called “value-preserving assets.” Those include dollars, gold, silver, diamonds, cryptocurrencies and, to a lesser extent, equities.
Such portable wealth can hold value when local assets depreciate — and be easily carried in case of a crisis, something on Iranians’ minds for months as many fear another war with Israel breaking out.
Mansour, a 28-year-old gold and jewelry merchant in the bazaar, said he had never seen such demand.
“In the past two weeks I’ve sold 6 kilos (13.2 pounds) of gold to ordinary people — a new experience for me,” said Mansour, who spoke on condition only his first name be used for fear of reprisals.
“People are rushing to buy because they fear their savings will lose value,” he added.
Behzad Rashvand, a 57-year-old grandfather, said he viewed gold as the only protection against rampant inflation in Iran.
“Right now, I see gold as the best way to preserve value,” he said. “Whenever I make money, I turn it into gold.”
Over the summer, 1-gram, 18-karat gold bars traded at around 115 million rials — about $100 as the rial now trades at over 1 million to $1. Gold coins were over $1,000 and 1-kilogram silver ingots were nearly $2,000. On Saturday, the price of a gold coin in Iran exceeded 1.2 billion rials for the first time in the country’s history. Small silver bars from 100 grams have become a new, entry-level investment for middle-class families, Iranian media reports suggest.
Fatemeh Parsa, a 47-year-old mother of two, now regrets using an inheritance to buy an apartment in Tehran. While real estate remains valuable in some Tehran neighborhoods, bank loans and people’s savings have not kept pace with sky-high prices.
“With global gold prices rising, I sometimes wish I had bought gold instead — my assets would have grown much more than real estate,” she said. “Now, it seems that investing in silver could be valuable, especia