Iran Halts 78,200-Toman Gasoline Price Test in Kerman as 135 Million-Liter Demand Strains Subsidies
Updated
Updated · Iran News Update · Aug 16
Iran Halts 78,200-Toman Gasoline Price Test in Kerman as 135 Million-Liter Demand Strains Subsidies
3 articles · Updated · Iran News Update · Aug 16
Summary
Kerman stopped selling gasoline at 78,200 tomans per liter within hours after Iran quietly launched the test, exposing how quickly fuel pricing can become politically toxic.
The trial was meant to confront a widening fuel deficit: officials say Iran consumes about 135 million liters a day, forcing the state to choose between costly imports and higher consumer prices.
The plan would have applied an 87,200-toman unsubsidized rate to fuel bought beyond existing quotas at 204 stations across Kerman Province, though the experiment was rapidly suspended.
Officials and analysts linked the retreat to fears of unrest after the 2019 nationwide protests triggered by a fuel-price hike, with some describing the extreme price figures as an anchoring tactic to make smaller increases seem acceptable.
The episode underscores Tehran's broader dilemma: keep subsidies and deepen an unsustainable supply gap, or raise prices in an inflation-hit economy and risk renewed public anger.