{"id":347907,"date":"2026-09-08T19:40:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T18:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=347907"},"modified":"2026-09-08T19:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T18:40:18","slug":"fuel-hike-takes-effect-as-labor-despair-and-security-strains-deepen-across-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/iranian-regime-infighting\/fuel-hike-takes-effect-as-labor-despair-and-security-strains-deepen-across-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Fuel Hike Takes Effect as Labor Despair and Security Strains Deepen Across Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Crowds
Crowds gather outside a currency exchange office in Tehran amid economic uncertainty and currency devaluation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The regime\u2019s latest gasoline increase moved from announcement to implementation at midnight on September 8, 2026, when fuel purchased through station cards doubled from 5,000 to 10,000 tomans per liter. The regime insists that the subsidized 1,500- and 3,000-toman quotas remain unchanged, with the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company claiming they cover 85 percent of motorists. More revealingly, its chief Mohammad-Sadegh Azimifar said<\/a> the government deliberately designed the changes to be \u201cstep-by-step\u201d to give society time to adjust and \u201cprevent any shock,\u201d while allowing officials to assess \u201csocial feedback\u201d before proceeding further.<\/p>\n

The execution itself nevertheless exposed how hurried the measure was. ISNA reported<\/a> that many gasoline-pump displays are technically incapable of showing a five-digit price such as 10,000 tomans because they were built for four digits. Rather than replace the equipment, station operators were instructed to remove one zero from the displayed prices and calculate the final amount with a fixed additional zero. In Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan and other cities, motorists had already formed queues before the increase took effect, seeking the last supplies at the previous rate.<\/p>\n

The government is also signaling that the adjustment may not end here. First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref said on Tuesday<\/a> that imported gasoline would eventually be liberalized through further gradual price reform, arguing that fuel bought abroad at roughly 70 cents per liter cannot indefinitely be sold domestically for only a few cents. He simultaneously acknowledged another structural problem: the state cannot ask motorists to pay more while continuing to supply them with what he called \u201cjunk cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

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"#Economic<\/a> hardship, fear of renewed unrest and the unresolved dispute over war versus negotiation are increasingly feeding the same internal struggle that Mojtaba Khamenei has repeatedly tried to suppress," @MansoreGolestan<\/a> writes.https:\/\/t.co\/eeeSgCy87J<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n