Iran: Currency Concerns Lead to Crackdown

Iran is doing its best to prevent its struggling economy from spurring more protests against the government. On Feb. 14, Iranian police arrested almost 100 currency traders and closed 10 exchange houses in a crackdown aimed at protecting Iran's currency, the rial. The rial's value has been dropping steadily over the last year and is currently trading at around 48,000 rials to one U.S. dollar. As the currency has continued to lose value, speculators have sped the process along by betting against the rial's value. Though the chief of Iran's central bank publicly warned speculators not to bet against the rial in recent weeks, it seems the central bank is now pursuing harsher measures by coordinating with police in the recent crackdown....