New restrictions on petrol sales have made fuel harder to access across Iran, prompting public complaints and warnings from transport operators that rising fuel costs could push up the prices of goods, officials and industry representatives said on Sunday.
Petrol stations' shared fuel cards, which allow motorists to buy fuel without using their own government-issued cards, have been withdrawn in 11 provinces. Unlike personal fuel cards, which provide access to subsidized petrol quotas, station cards allow drivers to refuel outside their individual allocations.
The restrictions have fueled public dissatisfaction, Abdolhossein Hemmati, secretary of parliament's energy committee, told ILNA news agency on November 15.
Under the allocation system, each vehicle receives 60 liters of petrol at 15,000 rials (about 0.6 US cents) per liter, 50 liters at 30,000 rials (1.1 cents) and another 50 liters at 100,000 rials (3.7 cents). Only the first allocation can be carried over to subsequent months, Hemmati said.
The restrictions come as Iran faces a deepening economic crisis, with inflation, declining purchasing power and rising living costs making basic necessities increasingly difficult to afford.