Iran unable to import petrol amid US naval blockade

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Iran has been unable to import enough petrol to make up for insufficient domestic production because of a US naval blockade, a senior Iranian official said.

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“Petrol production is insufficient, and because of the US naval blockade, we cannot import it,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah as saying on Wednesday.

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The remarks came as Iranians have in recent days queued outside petrol stations, with the war with the United States increasingly shifting towards economic pressure on Tehran.

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On Monday, the Iranian president’s chief of staff Mohsen Haji-Mirzaei said petrol quotas would be reviewed, without elaborating.

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War broke out between Iran and the United States on February 28. Tehran has since seized control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, with Washington imposing a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.

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Ghaempanah criticised the distribution of highly subsidised fuel in Iran, saying the current system disproportionately benefits people who own multiple vehicles.

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“The distribution of petrol in the country is inequitable. Owners of several vehicles benefit from subsidies, unlike those who do not own one,” he said.

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Iran, a major oil producer with some of the world’s cheapest fuel, has for years heavily subsidised petrol, making any changes to pricing politically sensitive.

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AFP

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