Iran doubles the price of non-quota petrol. A litre costs 4 euro cents

The decision comes as households face high inflation, a sharply weakened currency and rising costs for basic goods. President Masoud Pezeshkian had signaled the increase in late August without giving an implementation date, and Iranians have voiced concern that higher gasoline prices could raise transport costs and prices for other goods.

Esmail Saqqab Esfahani, head of Iran’s Energy Optimization Organization, said last month that Iran faced a daily gasoline deficit of about 14 million to 15 million liters. The gap between consumption and production predates the war, but fighting and the US blockade have added pressure by disrupting supplies while domestic output has failed to keep pace with demand.

Gasoline prices are politically sensitive in Iran. A sudden increase in November 2019 triggered nationwide protests, a near-total internet blackout and a deadly crackdown in which at least 1,500 people were killed, according to a Reuters investigation; Hossein Samsami, a member of parliament’s Economic Commission, warned last month that raising fuel prices now could be a “spark in a powder keg.”