Iran replaces central bank governor amid currency crash

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has appointed a new head of its central bank after the country’s currency crashed to its lowest level ever against the dollar amid mass protests and ongoing Western sanctions. The rial was trading at around 430,000 to the dollar on Thursday, down from 370,000 earlier this month. Already battered by years of Western sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, the rial was trading at 315,000 when anti-government protests erupted in mid-September. The protests were ignited by the death of a woman who was detained by the country’s morality police. The demonstrations rapidly escalated into calls for an end to more than four decades of clerical rule.