Iran’s currency, the rial, crashed more than 13 percent in trade on Monday, October 1 to a record low of 33,500 to the dollar, Agence France Presse reported. The dramatic free-fall added to more gradual losses in past months that have seen the rial lose more than three-quarters of its value compared with the end of last year, when it was at 13,000 to the dollar. Iran is suffering heightened geopolitical tensions over its nuclear program and the effects of tough Western sanctions which are hitting its economy. The plunge was hammering Iranian companies. “It’s a disaster,” a manager of a business in Iran’s import sector said. While sanctions were certainly having an impact, blame for the currency situation, as well as high inflation and rising unemployment, was also being put on economic mismanagement.