The Iranian rial
Currency · IRR · 1 country
Iran's central bank issues the rial, which replaced the qiran at par in 1932. Prices are mostly reckoned in tomans of ten rials each, and on 5 October 2025 parliament voted for a new rial worth 10,000 of the present ones. For larger sums, Iran Cheques issued by the central bank circulate freely and are treated as cash.
No sign of its own
There is no official sign. The Iranian standard ISIRI 820 defined one for typewriters, calling it the committee's own invention, and Unicode carries it as a compatibility character, U+FDFC RIAL SIGN. In Latin script amounts are written Rl for one rial, Rls for more, or IR, and in daily speech in tomans.
- ISO code
- IRR
- ISO number
- 364
- Subunit
- dinar, 1/100
An amount, written out
IRR 1,234
- IRR 1,234English
- ریال ۱٬۲۳۴PersianIran
Where the Iranian rial is the official currency
Iran uses it and no one else does. Legal tender notes stop at Rls100,000, so bearer Iran Cheques from the central bank cover larger sums.
About the Iranian rial
Who issues the rial and makes its paper
Bank Melli Iran issued the first notes of the modern rial in 1932. The Central Bank of Iran took over paper money in 1961 and issues it today, and each note carries the signature of the bank's head. The security paper comes from the Security Paper Mill, known as TAKAB, a subsidiary of the central bank in the city of Amol.
How the rial replaced the qiran
A rial first appeared in 1798 as a coin worth 1,250 dinars, an eighth of a toman. It stopped being issued in 1825. The qiran took its place, divided into 20 shahi or 1,000 dinars and worth a tenth of a toman. In 1932 the rial returned and replaced the qiran at par, now divided into 100 new dinars. Some of the older names still turn up in Iranian languages and proverbs.
Why Iranians count in tomans
Everyday prices are reckoned in tomans, with one toman equal to ten rials, although the rial is the official unit. The dinar, a hundredth of a rial, has no practical use. Rials and tomans appear side by side on recent notes. The Intergenerational series, issued from 2019, printed each value in tomans as well as rials and played down the rial figure's trailing four zeros.
When the zeros are due to go
Redenomination has been proposed repeatedly since the late 1980s. In 2008 a central bank official spoke of cutting four zeros and renaming the unit the toman. A public poll on the plan opened on 21 July 2011. The government approved a bill in July 2019 to replace the rial with a toman of 10,000 rials, and parliament approved it in May 2020. Opponents feared the psychological effect on inflation.
On 5 October 2025 the Islamic Consultative Assembly voted for a new rial equal to 10,000 of the current rials and divided into 100 qirans. The old and new currencies are to circulate in parallel for three years after the new one arrives.
What an Iran Cheque is
The central bank once let the large state banks print bearer cheques for fixed amounts, laid out like banknotes, which worked as cash for a year. In 2008 it withdrew that right and began issuing its own Iran Cheques, running to Rls10,000,000. Legal tender banknotes stop at Rls100,000, and the cheques cover the values above.
In March 2026, during a cash shortage, the central bank began handing out one-million-toman Iran Cheques at selected branches, within withdrawal limits. The face value is printed in both the current rial and the new rial. The design shows the Jameh Mosque of Yazd. The bank called the note a temporary step and urged people toward electronic payment.
How the money changed after the revolution
In 1979 notes bearing the Shah were stamped over to hide his face, and the coinage lost his effigy while keeping its sizes and metals for a time. A new coinage came in 1992 with smaller pieces. Coins of Rls1,000 followed in 2009 and of Rls2,000 and Rls5,000 in 2010. The central bank announced a digital rial in 2021.
Common questions
Questions about the Iranian rial
What is the difference between a rial and a toman?
The rial is the official currency; the toman is how most Iranians count. One toman equals ten rials, so a price of 50,000 tomans means 500,000 rials. The toman is an older unit: when the rial first appeared as a coin in 1798 it was worth an eighth of a toman. The Intergenerational notes issued from 2019 print both figures, and the one-million-toman Iran Cheque of March 2026 carries its value in the current rial and the new rial.
Is Iran removing four zeros from the rial?
Parliament voted on 5 October 2025 for a new rial worth 10,000 current rials and divided into 100 qirans. Both are to circulate together for three years once the new currency is introduced. An earlier bill, approved in 2019 and 2020, had proposed the name toman.
How is the Iranian rial written in English?
As Rl for one rial and Rls for several, or with the abbreviation IR, and with the ISO code IRR. Iran has no official sign. A symbol invented by a standards committee for typewriters sits in Unicode as U+FDFC, RIAL SIGN.
Why do Iranians use Iran Cheques instead of banknotes?
No legal tender note goes above Rls100,000. The central bank fills the space above it with Iran Cheques, bearer cheques of fixed value printed like banknotes and treated as cash. Until 2008 state banks printed their own; since then the central bank has issued them. In March 2026 it added a one-million-toman cheque during a cash shortage and described it as temporary.