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🇮🇩 Indonesia /Elections & Politics

War and Sanctions Deepen Iran’s Fuel Crisis

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Iranian motorists and truck drivers face hours-long and sometimes overnight waits as gasoline and diesel shortages worsen after new US sanctions.
  • Iran already has an estimated gasoline deficit of about 15 million liters a day, while war damage and import difficulties have further constrained supplies.
  • A trial using methanol in domestically produced gasoline has fueled public suspicion about fuel quality, although officials say it meets technical standards.

Across Iran, drivers are spending hours in fuel lines, with some arriving before midnight or sleeping in their cars to secure gasoline the next morning. Some stations close before serving everyone in line, while others limit purchases to about five liters.

The pressure is even greater for truck drivers. Lines for diesel near major cities can stretch for kilometers, forcing drivers to wait overnight for enough fuel to return to work. One driver said his life was spent either on the road or in the diesel queue. Another said he had been waiting since 8 a.m. after failing to obtain fuel the previous day.

Iran already faces a gasoline deficit of roughly 15 million liters a day. War damage, difficulty importing refined products and a tightening US blockade have made the long-standing shortage harder to manage. For truck drivers, every day spent waiting means lost income while insurance, tire, oil, repair and maintenance costs continue to rise.

I'm in the gasoline line right now. It took about 45 minutes just to get this far. Yesterday I went to several stations. Some were closed, some had no gasoline and others had very long queues.

— A resident of KarajThe resident described the long waits and limited availability at filling stations.

The shortages have also coincided with the use of methanol in domestically produced gasoline. Vahid Ghaneifard, chief executive of Persian Gulf Star Oil Company, said the refinery had begun testing methanol as an oxygenate. The company says methanol accounts for about 0.5% of the mixture, while Iranian refining authorities say national standards allow concentrations of up to 3%.

Officials insist the trial meets technical requirements, but its timing has intensified public suspicion. Videos circulating online show motorists holding unusually clear fuel and alleging that gasoline quality has deteriorated. Some also claim that water or excessive alcohol is being added, though those allegations have not been independently confirmed. At least one incident involving water contamination has been confirmed.

Our whole life is either spent in the diesel line or on the road.

— Truck driverThe driver described how fuel shortages are affecting work and income.
About this summary

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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