Daily London
The value of the Iranian rial plummeted to a record low amid the collapse, resulting in further revolts that rapidly spread across the entire nation.
Before the unrest, $1 was worth about 28,000 Iranian rial.
Now, a $1 coin is worth over 720,000 rial.
The collapse has had significant consequences on Iranian students living in Australia, including business student Fatemah*.
“I have lots of worries about survival, how to survive financially,” she told 9news.com.au.
“Here in Australia, sometimes the tuition fees and other things like rent increase, and it makes some problems for me.
She has had to pick up several jobs to stay afloat due to the collapsing Iranian economy.
When Fatemah arrived in Australia, she was unable to convert all of her money to Australian currency due to international sanctions on Iranian banks, an issue many people from the nation are facing.
“I just want to have enough money to survive,” she said.
“My family told me to just focus on (my) studies and to find a job related to my knowledge and expertise.
“But now it doesn’t matter to me. I work in restaurants.
“I just want to cover my (expenses).”
Fatemah said her family in Iran are also experiencing the effects of the economic crash and deadly protests.
”I’m worried about their safety,” she said.
“I’m worried sick about my family and my friends, who I haven’t heard from for a long time now, because there’s a blackout in Iran,” she said.
“My sister could call me several times in the past few days.
“I could hear her voice, but what I heard wasn’t actually assuring because I could see that she was so terrified.”
Zahra, who was in Iran during several protests, including the Women, Life, Freedom revolution of 2022, said the nation was battling a regime that will not give up power.
“They get more aggressive because they want to remain in power,” she said.
“So every single time (there is) a big protest, they get more aggressive. They got more violent.
“I came (to Australia) to maintain my mental health because I couldn’t tolerate the environment there anymore.
“They shot at me when I was at home through the window because I was shouting, ‘stop it’, ‘stop it’.
“They use the real army facilities against their own people. I was traumatised by the things that I experienced.
“It kind of felt like if I stay, I’m gonna get killed.”
However, when she arrived, she was also unable to bring all her money due to the sanctions in the nation.
“I couldn’t transfer all my money at once, but I brought some,” she said.
“When the economy started collapsing, it was hard for me to convert the money.
“I started working here because I couldn’t pay for living costs anymore based on my savings.”
Zahra put a large portion of her money into paying off her student loan, and when the economy collapsed was left financially stranded, having to ask her father in Iran to lend her money.
“Don’t put more pressure on the students,” she said.
“(We) are already in a very, very bad situation. We are in the darkest days of our lives.
“Don’t put more pressure on us, understand us.”
The demonstrations have quickly become the largest uprising in the nation since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, claiming the lives of at least 3766 people, with a high probability of a significantly higher death count.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency also reported that 24,348 protesters were arrested in the crackdown.
*Names have been changed to protect identities.
