Economics

Iran's Standoff With the U.S. Has Paralyzed Money Markets and Businesses

  • Standoff with U.S. administration has closed currency markets
  • European leaders are offering alternatives in Washington

Israel Claims Iran Had a Nuclear Plan

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For half a century, Payam’s family hardware firm near Ferdowsi Square has supplied Tehran’s builders with tools -- through revolution, war and more recently sanctions. But it has rarely seen times as bad as these.

A slump in the value of Iran’s rial currency amid a tense standoff with the U.S. has triggered a chain of events that’s paralyzed money markets and businesses. Payam’s range of Bosch and Karcher products is hardly selling, and suppliers are wary of meeting new orders.