麻豆社

Iran鈥檚 currency, the rial, has hit a record low, trading at over 2 million rials to the dollar on unofficial markets. The devaluation comes a day before the United States is due to impose what US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant described as 鈥渢he toughest sanctions in history鈥� on Tehran. Iran was struggling financially even before the start of its ongoing conflict with the US and Israel, nearly six months ago.

Also in the programme: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns against holding wartime elections, following repeated calls from his sacked defence minister to hold a nationwide vote; Syria鈥檚 foreign minister says he expects peace talks with Israel to resume soon; and we hear from the director of London鈥檚 Natural History Museum, where a gallery which has remained hidden from view since World War Two is about to reopen.

(Photo: Iranian woman buys vegetables at a street market in Tehran, Iran, 22 August 2026. Credit: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA/Shutterstock)