A Member of Parliament Announced a Certain Increase in Gasoline Prices Next Year

The Vice President of the Parliament's Program and Budget Commission stated that the review of next year's budget and the reduction in the budget allocated for gasoline imports sends a clear message: gasoline is "likely to become more expensive next year, so let's not lie to the people." Mehrdad Lahouti told the government news agency ILNA: "The issue is completely clear; this year, 90 trillion tomans were allocated for gasoline imports, but for next year, the gasoline import budget is predicted to be 65 trillion tomans." According to this parliament member, the meaning of this change in numbers is clear: "The government is likely to want to increase gasoline prices next year." Lahouti believes that decisions in this regard are made "somewhere else" and that 80% of the authority in this matter has been taken "elsewhere," leaving the public unaware of the determination of gasoline prices. The Vice President of the Parliament's Program and Budget Commission also quoted the Minister of Oil in a meeting with representatives, stating that the government is looking for a way to implement a gasoline price increase, and based on this, Lahouti said: "With this in mind, why should we lie to the people? The reality is that the government is looking for a way to increase gasoline prices." Update: Hours after this interview was published, the public relations office of the Ministry of Oil issued a statement denying the parliament members' remarks regarding the Oil Minister's comments on increasing gasoline prices. The Ministry of Oil's response to ILNA stated: "The determination of energy carrier prices, including gasoline, falls under upstream policymaking, and in this regard, the Ministry of Oil will merely implement the decisions communicated by the government and the esteemed parliament." The increase in imbalance is a factor that has prompted the Islamic Republic to seek an increase in gasoline prices to manage its foreign currency resources and expenditures. Experts believe that if the current trend continues, the amount of gasoline imports this year could reach $10 billion. This was emphasized by Massoud Pezeshkian at the beginning of August in an interview with the website of the Supreme Leader's office, stating: "We have an energy imbalance in the country, and currently, we are paying $8 billion for gasoline purchases, meaning we buy gasoline for about 30 or 40 thousand tomans and sell it for 1500 tomans; how long can we continue this?" Media analysts believe that the government is raising the issue of increasing gasoline prices and surrounding discussions to normalize it in public opinion to reduce a significant portion of emotional reactions through prolonged discussions. The Islamic Republic has a bitter memory of the last gasoline price increase, as protests erupted in November 2019 following a sudden increase in gasoline prices, starting on the night of November 24 in several cities in Iran, including Mashhad, Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, and Behbahan. The scope of these protests spread to 54 cities, and ultimately, the Islamic Republic cut off the internet in the country and resorted to killing protesters in various cities. On December 23, 2019, Reuters reported, citing sources in the Iranian government, that around 1500 protesters were killed during the November protests.