[Iranian Rial Hits New Lows, Central Bank Reportedly Intervenes in Forex Market] According to a report by Jinse Finance, on October 4, the Iranian Rial continued to decline on Saturday. Previously, the Central Bank of Iran announced it would inject up to $2 billion to support the Rial in response to economic difficulties caused by U.S. sanctions and maritime blockades. Data from the free market tracking website bon-bast shows that the selling price of the U.S. dollar was approximately 26.88 million Rials, up from 26.32 million Rials on Friday; alanchand reported an exchange rate of 1 USD to 26.95 million Rials. Iranian state television stated that state-owned banks have begun selling up to $2 billion to support the local currency. The Rial has depreciated by more than half over the past year. Many Iranians seeking safe-haven assets have been purchasing U.S. dollars, other hard currencies, or gold. Mehdi Darabi, the Central Bank of Iran's assistant governor for foreign exchange affairs, attributed part of the Rial's decline to incorrect predictions by U.S. officials about the collapse of Iran's economy. Darabi stated: 'Some have suggested that Iran's economy is on the verge of collapse... The enemy is using this to influence our currency's exchange rate.' He added that the current decline of the Rial is temporary.