Mubasher: The Iranian rial (IRR) on Monday hit another record low against the US dollar as the country’s economy continued to deteriorate amid worries that the re-instatement of sanctions by the US against Tehran would shut down oil exports from the countries.

The Iranian currency lost about 15% of its value against the greenback, trading at IRR 128,500 later in the day, according to Bonbast.com, which tracks rates in the unofficial currency market of Iran.

 The new drop came after Central Bank Governer Abdolnaser Hemmati announced on Saturday tighter restrictions on allocating foreign exchange (FX) reserves, financial journalist Maziar Motamedi told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Hemmati said that he wishes to be much more careful in allocating foreign currencies at government rates, signalling a potential forthcoming shortage of hard currency," Motamedi told the news agency.

The US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran in May, re-imposing thereby sanctions, including those which would hit the country’s oil sector from November, have fuelled the currency’s volatility.

Iran has been facing headwinds in the previous quarters as appetite grew for the greenback and worries that the sanctions would shut down Tehran’s exports beyond the energy industry.