Exclusive – Iran Planning To Raise Gasoline Prices In Risky Move

Gasoline and other fuels are heavily subsidized in Iran, which coupled with refining limitations, has led to shortages this year according to the government.

In 2019, the government raised gasoline prices to 15,000 rials per liter, or less than 3 US cents in today’s exchange rates. At this price citizens were allowed to buy 60 liters per month, or 15.8 US gallons. But it sold unlimited gasoline at double the minimum price.

The new regulation caps the more expensive gasoline at 150 liters per individual, per month – or 40 gallons. The 60-liter allowance at the cheaper price remains in effect. Overall, gasoline, diesel and natural gas prices in Iran are among the lowest in the world.

Iran’s heavy fuel and electricity subsidies cost the country at least $50 billion a year, while the government struggles to secure foreign currencies amid US economic sanctions.

The government is entertaining the idea of raising fuel prices, but last time when it increased prices in 2019, fierce nationwide protests broke out. Government forces killed at least 1,500 people in one week and badly damaged the regime’s legitimacy.

Five years of economic crisis since the imposition of US sanctions have pushed annual inflation to near 70 percent and the national currency rial has lost its value 12-fold.

In a report Friday, Dadban said the three young men – Milad Armoun, Mehdi Hosseini and Alireza Kafaei -- have been charged with Muhariba (pronounced moharebeh in Persian) for the killing of a 21-year-old Basiji militia member named Arman Aliverdi in Tehran’s Ekbatan neighborhood October 26 amid nationwide protests.

Muhariba is an Islamic-Arabic term that in the lexicon of the Iranian regime means bearing arms and “fighting God” or “waging war against God,” and carries the death penalty.

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A video circulating on social media at the time showed Aliverdi bleeding from the face and head while a protester kicked him. He later died in hospital. Authorities claim protesters also stabbed him.

Defendants in the case have denied stabbing Aliverdi who the residents of Ekbatan say had been trying to infiltrate the protesters to identify their leaders.

A young woman, who identifies herself as Aidi and runs the neighborhood’s popular Twitter account, told Iran International that the case is still under investigation and the accused have not been sentenced yet.

According to Payam Dorfeshan who represents one of the defendants in the case, the accused were tortured to confess to Aliverdi’s killing and implicate each other, Dadban said.

It also reported three other defendants, Mehdi Hosseini, Hossein Nemati and another yet unnamed young man apparently arrested in Ahvaz recently, have been charged with “complicity in murder” and “propaganda against the regime”.

After the incident, security forces from various agencies carried out many raids in Ekbatan and arrested at least fifty young protesters. Fourteen of the detainees were eventually indicted but others were freed later for lack of any evidence of their involvement in Aliverdi’s killing.

Dadban quoted Dorfeshan as saying that security forces’ violent daytime and night raids in Ekbatan were meant to arrest defendants and other protesters and instill fear among the residents.

The west Tehran neighborhood was an epicenter of protests ignited by the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who was fatally injured in September 2022 while in police custody following her arrest for not wearing “proper” hijab.

“These raids have seriously affected the mental health of the residents, particularly children.There are reliable reports about sleep disturbance and nightmares among children after these raids. Their drawings also show violent scenes as a result of [witnessing] the raids,” he said.

During the heat of the protests, Basij militiamen and officers of various intelligence and security forces in plainclothes attacked chanting young people who marched in small groups around the blocks of apartments in Ekbatan.

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Basijis and other security forces on several occasions shot at people’s windows indiscriminately, rampaged the entrance lobbies in several blocks, broke the windows, and destroyed the lobby furniture and intercoms to give the residents a lesson.

The ever-present Basij have four bases within the five square kilometer complex which has 15,500 apartments and a population of around 45,000.

Regime forces often used tear gas, shot pellets at protesters for chanting “Death to Khamenei” and “Down with the Dictator” every night, and made arrests both outside and inside the buildings.

Abolfazl Amir-Ataei died Saturday after enduring great suffering from a severe head injury amid protests in Shahr-e Ray south of Tehran during Iran’s “Woman Life Freedom” movement.

Informed sources told the Hegaw Human Rights Organization that Amir-Ataei was shot in close range by government forces, with a tear gas projectile striking him from a meter away, causing a critical injury and shattering his skull.

He underwent several major surgeries, and finally, on May 21, his mother published a video showing that he could move his fingers and react to his mother's words; however, in less than a week he passed away.

Abolfazl was taken to the hospital the same day after being hit, but some relatives of the teenager said government agents forced his family not to complain to any institution.

The young man’s mother, who endured the excruciating pain caused by Abolfazl’s injuries, posted an image of her son on Instagram, saying "my moon vanished, I wish demise of yours too".

During the protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in September, hundreds of children and teenagers were killed, injured, and thousands imprisoned by the regime.

Human rights organizations identified at least 70 children and teenagers killed during the protests.

The underage protesters were killed by direct shots to their heart and head or being beaten by the regime forces.

As the number of children killed in the protests increased, "Death to the Child-killing Regime" turned into one of the main slogans in street rallies or chanted over rooftops.

The differences in opinion among officials about the economic crisis has surfaced in the media while the current government is halfway through its four-year term of office.

Expediency Council chief Sadeq Amoli-Larijani warned in an interview with Etemad Online that Iranians are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with their financial hardships and the government needs to take urgent measures. Amoli-Larijani said that he has informed officials of the alarming state of the economy.

He said the situation is so urgent that officials must come up with immediate, short-term solutions to tackle the country’s economic problems. 

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Iran’s currency has lost half its value in less than a year and millions of people have sunk into poverty. Iran has refused to reach a nuclear deal with the United States, which could lift crippling economic sanctions.

Meanwhile, former lawmaker Ezzatollah Yousefian-Molla told Nasmeh News that Iran's economy will face hyperinflation starting in June. He said the rise in prices between May 2022 and May 2023 is unbelievable. According to the Iranian Central Bank, the point-to-point inflation between those two dates has been over 55.5 percent. Others have offered higher estimates approaching 70 percent.

Yousefian-Molla suggested that the government had better not announce inflation figures under the circumstances. He warned the situation is getting even worse. He even said that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s latest speech to Iranian diplomats about changing Iran’s diplomacy was alluding to the fact that something needs to be done to improve the status of the economy.

He added that Iranians are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet although they do their best to spend less. Even prices of bread, cheese and eggs have skyrocketed. In such a situation, he said, the people will not believe government lies about economic growth.

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Despite the warnings, vice president for economic affairs Mohsen Rezaei says economic reforms are on their way. However, he admitted that the current situation is “painful” for the people. Meanwhile, despite being a member of the government, he criticised the government for not keeping up with technological progress. 

He also criticized Iranian governments during the past 80 years for trying to take over exisiting companies and factories rather than genuinely seeking to make Iran an industrial country. Rezaei added that the factories the government has established are on a declining course. 

He maintained that Iran has been successful only in defense industries. “In other areas, we have spent a lot of money and energy while we did not have enough progress.” He further boasted that “Big powers fear our defence industries.” 

He also criticized the budgeting system in Iran and said the government allocates budget but has no idea from where the funding should come. Rezaei added that Iran’s banking system also needs to be reformed to be compatible with international standards.

Meanwhile, he blamed the people for the lack of economic progress saying that the country needs economic reforms, but implementing those reforms will lead to protests.

In another development, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in an interview with the IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency that “I promise to bring about economic stability with a five-year plan to overcome inflation.”

IRGC Commander Hossein Salami said on Saturday that in addition to face-to-face counseling, the military branch will also offer incentives regarding marriage and childbearing.

Iran's population growth rate has dropped significantly in the past 30 years.

“In relation to infertility treatment, we set up a center in Najmiyeh Hospital, which provides good services,” added Salami in a ceremony to mark National Youth Population Day.

“When the number of children in families decreases, the level of resistance, sacrifice, and vitality in the country also drops,” stated Salami.

According to him, the IRGC is top on the list among the armed forces in terms of bearing children.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says efforts to increase the country's population are among the most urgent duties and essential policies of the Islamic Republic.

He has repeatedly warned about “dangers of an aging population” and called for measures to boost birth rates.

The IRGC and Khamenei’s calls for childbearing come as tens of millions of Iranians have sunk into poverty in the last decade because of an inefficient economy, low growth and foreign sanctions.

Parliament passed legislation last year to outlaw tubectomy, vasectomy, and the free dispensation of contraceptives other than where pregnancy would threaten a woman's health.

The law obliges the government to offer incentives, including a 7.5-fold increase in child-benefit payments to government employees, interest-free loans, and other benefits. While the new law does not include a ban on prenatal screening, doctors have been advised not to encourage it.