The entire article is based on stupidity and hype from a clickbait source, just note the facts:
* In May 2019 Localbitcoins "officially shut off service for Iran-based users" (
https://www.coindesk.com/localbitcoins-bans-bitcoin-buying-in-iran-in-blow-to-rising-crypto-commerce ).
* Localbitcoins still says: "Unfortunately LocalBitcoins is currently not available in your selected region. Please look for other location or come back later." whenever you click on the buy bitcoins in Iran.
* The article is quoting the trading volume IN Iranian rial. NOT that takes place in Iran, but that is priced and transacted in the rial. And the author didn't understand the difference between them. Are there many people outside Iran using the rial? Sure, but not a lot it seems.
Inside Iran is the volume that matters because that is where people want to protect their wealth or where they want to convert the rial into something that can bypass capital and currency controls. LocalBitcoins doesn't allow that right now.
No one is buying bitcoin inside Iran using localbitcoins because it is not allowed on the localbitcoins platform. What is allowed is people using the rial to buy bitcoin if they are outside of Iran.
Without good data showing what is being bought and sold inside Iran (and even whether it is permitted) the statement that people are or are not purchasing bitcoin to protect in Iran their wealth isn't verifiable or falsifiable. I don't doubt that IF localbitcoins was allowing transactions inside Iran, there would be many people attempting to convert their wealth into something that they can then take outside of Iran.
The entire article seems to be based on a complete misunderstanding of the information.