Financial Tribune - President Hassan Rouhani's chief of staff has denied recent claims by selected news outlets that the government for politically motives intentionally allows increase in foreign exchange rates.

"When forex rates climb pressure builds on the government … the government does not play with people's livelihoods and the countries' resources," Mahmoud Vaezi told reporters on the sidelines of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Some analysts, in particular opponents of the government, claim that it is the government that lets forex rates rise “to create crisis-like conditions and by extension pressure the Expediency Council to approve the long-pending FATF-related bills.