Iran plans to use rial in int'l transactions

TEHRAN, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Iran is planning to use its own rial as the currency in international transactions, the local satellite Press TV reported on Sunday.

Iran has started discussions with other countries concerning the use of its national currency in international transactions, Iranian banking official Mahmoud Reza Khavari said.

"Some countries have agreed to use the Iranian rial for payment in some transactions," Khavari, president of Bank Melli Iran, was quoted as saying.

Under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's proposal in 2005, Iran has already sought to replace U.S. dollar by euro as a counter-measure to U.S. and Western moves against Iran's controversial nuclear program.

In September, Ahmadinejad ordered the euro to be used instead of the dollar as Iran's "basic foreign currency."