© The Associated Press/Vahid SalemiA currency exchange bureau worker counts US dollars, as Iranian bank notes are seen at right in Tehran.
As Iran experiences new, harsh US and international economic sanctions over its nuclear program - a program considered by much of the country as a matter of national pride - a stable currency has become a national security priority.
"Even though it's not necessarily good for the economy, amidst sanctions a stable currency creates an illusion of strength," says a veteran analyst in Tehran. "It reflects how nonvulnerable the Iranian economy is to sanctions."
But in the past week Iran's currency - the rial - dropped almost 30 percent after President Obama approved new sanctions targeting Iran's Central Bank. The rial has since rebounded significantly from a low of 17,800 rials to the dollar on Monday. However the Central Bank has tried to introduce a cap on the market rate of 14,000 rials to the dollar, and the government announced that anyone caught selling rials at a higher rate would be arrested.
