For those claiming arbitrage potential and errors with decimal places, let me dispel that with a scenario:
Let's say you own 1 Bitcoin, and you sold it in Iran so you could earn from arbitrage. Localbitcoins says the rate per Bitcoin is currently 874,755,539.52 IRR, so let's say you ended up with 875m IRR.
Official exchanges say that you can buy $1 for 41,970.80 IRR. That would net you a whopping ~$21k! You've more than tripled your money! Mission accomplished, right?
Well no. Official exchanges are unlikely to sell you any USD because of economic and political reasons. So you're now stuck with a rapidly devaluing IRR.
If you really want to convert IRR to USD, you have to use unofficial exchanges, which offer a $1 for 140k IRR rate. If we use that instead, you're only going to end up with ~$6k, which is just about what Bitcoin is normally worth. The whole process will be pointless.
I hope people read this lol.
Great explanation! I just want to add a few words for those who still have doubts about what really happened.
A situation as described in the quoted post is pretty normal for isolated countries. For example in the former Soviet Union when the official exchange rate was 0.6 Ruble for 1 USD no one would sell you 1 USD for that price. It was possible to buy USD on the black market, but the price was 4 Rubles for 1 USD. In North Korea the official exchange rate is 100 North Korean Won for 1 USD, while a black market rate is over 8,000 NKW for 1 Dollar. And so on.
So, the information in the OP's article and especially its title is nothing more than an astute manipulation of facts.