Iran raises petrol prices for heavier users as US applies economic pressure

Iranian authorities have raised the price of petrol for heavier consumers as the United States increases sanctions aimed at isolating the country’s economy.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said on Sunday that the third pricing tier would double to 10,000 tomans per litre from the morning of September 8. She said the first and second tiers would not change.

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The rate will increase to 10,000 toman rials from the morning of September 8.

Iran’s quota system currently charges 1,500 tomans per litre for the first 60 litres used each month, 3,000 tomans for the next 50 litres, and 5,000 tomans after that. The toman is an informal unit equivalent to 10 Iranian rials.

“The rate will increase to 10,000 toman rials from the morning of September 8,” Mohajerani said in remarks carried by state media. “Different numbers were mentioned in expert meetings, but because the president had promised the people, the rate of 10,000 tomans was set.”

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Different numbers were mentioned in expert meetings, but because the president had promised the people, the rate of 10,000 tomans was set.

Iran is a major oil producer with some of the world’s cheapest fuel, and it has heavily subsidized petrol for years. That has made changes to fuel prices politically sensitive. The increase came as the rial traded above 2.2 million to the US dollar on the black market, compared with about 1.7 million before the start of the US-Iran war on February 28.

The measure follows plans outlined by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for the “economic asphyxiation” of Iran. The United States and its allies have maintained sanctions since 2018, when President Donald Trump withdrew from an international nuclear agreement with Tehran. The United States has also imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports in an effort to reduce the country’s oil exports to zero.

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Economic asphyxiation