The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has appointed Mahdi Goudarzi as its new foreign exchange deputy, Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati announced, Foodpress reported on January 29.

In the appointment letter, Hemmati wrote: "You are hereby appointed as acting deputy of foreign exchange at the Central Bank. It is hoped that by relying on God Almighty and using your valuable experience, you will be successful in carrying out the assigned duties and advancing the goals of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Goudarzi previously served as the central bank's international deputy.

The appointment comes as Iran's rial trades at IRR1.653mn to the US dollar on the open market, according to exchange rate data from January 29. The euro was trading at IRR1.978mn, whilst the British pound stood at IRR2.285mn and the Swiss franc at IRR2.155mn.

The Canadian dollar was quoted at IRR1.222mn, the Australian dollar at IRR1.168mn and the Russian rouble at IRR21,750. Asian currencies showed the Thai baht at IRR53,050, the Singapore dollar at IRR1.308mn and the Hong Kong dollar at IRR212,000.

The central bank's foreign exchange operations have come under increasing scrutiny in recent months following the failure of the former CBI chief, Mohammad Reza Farzin, to stem the currency's downward spiral at free-market rates. 

Recent demonstrations over price increases saw importers and mobile phone sellers take to the streets as import prices became unaffordable, eventually sparking nationwide protests. 

More than 3,117 people have died in recent protests, according to official government figures, but that death toll is expected to be significantly higher than that.