Iran to issue 100,000-rial notes by August 2010

According to a PressTV article dated 23 March 2010, “The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) will issue new 100,000-rial [US$10.11] banknotes within four months, says CBI Head Mahmoud Bahmani. ‘We have ordered 100,000-rial banknotes to be printed and people will get these notes within four months,’ said Bahmani on Monday, IRNA reported. Last week, the CBI announced that the bank plans to print 100,000-rial banknotes in the current Iranian year, which started on March 21. CBI Deputy Head Hamid Pourmohammadi says the decision was part of the bank's plan to slash three zeros off Iran's national currency. The head of Iran's Bank Tejarat, Majid-Reza Davari, said the decision was part of CBI's “monetary reform plan,” but analysts say rising inflation has led the government to issue high value banknotes, Fars News Agency reported.”