Speculations on the Price Increase of Gasoline

Most newspapers affiliated with the principlist faction dedicated their front page on Wednesday to the possibility of an increase in gasoline prices. The Vatan-e Emruz newspaper, close to the Stability Front, featured a photo of Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, head of the Planning and Budget Organization, with the headline "Gasoline Bomb," quoting the Oil Minister as saying, "Gasoline may exceed 1500 tomans." This newspaper emphasized that "government officials have started a cat-and-mouse game to increase gasoline prices," stating, "Evidence shows that the government is seeking to raise gasoline prices, and even discussions about 1500 tomani gasoline have emerged. The contradictory behavior of officials in response to these news reports has added to the ambiguities. After all, a government that triples exit fees and shows a particular appetite for increasing its revenue will not hesitate to raise gasoline prices as much as it can." The Javan newspaper, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also reported on its front page with the title "Managing Iran with Expensive Gasoline," stating: "Although the news from the Etemad newspaper on Tuesday about the possibility of increasing gasoline prices to 1500 tomans per liter was denied by the National Oil Refining and Distribution Company, Bijan Zanganeh, the oil minister, stated: 'The increase in gasoline prices has been considered in the budget for 2018; when and how the increase will be implemented is still unclear.'" This newspaper wrote that "serious scenarios for increasing gasoline prices have been considered, which, if implemented, will set gasoline prices between 1400 and 1700 tomans." Kayhan also sarcastically wrote in its front page: "The first step of the government in fulfilling its promises is the increase in energy carrier prices." This newspaper referred to a provision in the 2018 budget bill that gives the government the authority to increase energy carrier prices by up to 20% next year, describing it as an effort by the government to obtain a "blank check" from the parliament, but simultaneously quoted Rahim Zare, spokesman for the Economic Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, as saying: "The parliament opposes the increase in energy carrier rates, and the increase in gasoline prices is a red line for the representatives." The Khorasan newspaper, however, in its front page referring to "speculations on the extent of gasoline price increases" wrote: "Confirmations, denials, and explanations indicate the future increase in energy carrier prices." This newspaper emphasized that "Clause 18 of the 2018 budget bill has created uncertainties regarding the increase in gasoline and energy carrier prices next year," quoting "a responsible official in the Planning and Budget Organization" as saying: "Currently, three scenarios with different figures are being discussed, which will be finalized in interaction with the parliament regarding the price and timing of implementation. The proposed gasoline price ranges from 1400 to 1700 tomans, as the government pursues two goals: first, to control consumption and ultimately use the revenue for job creation." Khorasan also reported that "the spokesman for the National Oil Refining and Distribution Company denied any determination of a new price for gasoline," and quoted Bijan Zanganeh, the oil minister, as saying: "The increase in gasoline prices has been considered in the 2018 budget," but "the discussion of the gasoline price amount is still open, and this decision is subject to discussion in the parliament," and "when and how the increase in gasoline prices will be implemented is still unclear, and whenever necessary, the government will announce the issue of increasing gasoline prices." The Qanoon newspaper published a photo of Mohammad Ali Najafi, the mayor of Tehran, on its front page with the headline "Impeach Him," emphasizing the "necessity of the supervisory duty of city council members instead of making excuses and covert protests against the mayor of Tehran." This newspaper stated that "since the beginning of appointments in the Tehran municipality, many city council members have criticized the type of appointments in this organization, especially the employment of individuals close to the thinking of the previous mayor of Tehran." It reported that on Tuesday, news emerged that "in a meeting between the mayor of Tehran and council members, the mayor sharply responded to one member's question and, in reaction to protests from some other council members, said that even if I am not the mayor of Tehran, I am the first person in the country." This newspaper noted that these remarks by Mohammad Ali Najafi "provoked a strong reaction from one of the council members" and were accompanied by "denials from the spokesman and several other council members, but the nature of the denials did not negate the occurrence of the council meeting with the mayor." The Qanoon newspaper emphasized that if a "solution is not devised for the challenges between the members of the Tehran city council and the mayor" from now on, it could lead to despair and hopelessness among the council's voting base. It stated: "The members of the city council are representatives of the people's thoughts in the Behesht building and must align their compass with the people. If the city council becomes a city mayor's council, it will create an even worse situation than the previous council with the mayor." Kayhan, in its Wednesday issue, quoted a representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in the newspaper, stating: "Ansar Allah (Yemen) should target Saudi and Emirati oil tankers in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea with missiles." According to this newspaper, Hossein Shariatmadari, the managing editor of Kayhan, emphasized in a speech at the Tarbiat Modares University on Tuesday that "the way to counter the attacks of the Saudi-led coalition's fighter jets and some Arab countries in the Persian Gulf is to target the oil tankers of these countries in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea." He stated: "Based on my understanding of Ansar Allah, in the near future, in addition to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi and some other centers of countries allied with Al Saud, they will also target Saudi and Emirati oil tankers in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea with their long-range missiles." The representative of Ayatollah Khamenei in Kayhan also stated: "Firing missiles at Riyadh and Abu Dhabi and oil tankers is the least price that Al Saud and its allies must pay for the lives of millions of innocent women, men, and children in Yemen." The Etemad newspaper reported on its front page that Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC, "announced Iran's readiness for comprehensive support of the Islamic resistance forces in Palestine during a contact with military commanders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad." Simultaneously, the Bahar newspaper reported on its front page with the title "Confusion in Syria," stating: After Iran's military presence in Syria and Iraq, the statements of some military personnel and "issues such as the possibility of military advisory assistance to Yemen and also Palestinian groups" have strengthened the speculation that a range of "military personnel" in Iran are trying to expand the military presence of the Islamic Republic in various regional countries. This newspaper wrote: "The fundamental question is what kind of action and to what extent does the Iranian political system want to take in the Syrian field? Continuing military presence and further diminishing diplomatic efforts? Extending military presence in Iraq and Syria to other countries? Or withdrawing military forces from Syria and Iraq and relying more on diplomatic tools? Or another option." The Bahar newspaper noted that even Russia, with the "end of ISIS" in Syria, is seeking to move towards "resolving the crisis through negotiation" by withdrawing its military forces from this country, stating: "Looking at the positions of Iranian officials regarding Syria, we witness a kind of confusion in the statements of political and military officials. What can be inferred from the comments of military personnel is their inclination towards continuing military presence in Iraq and Syria and even expanding this field, and issues such as the possibility of military advisory assistance to Yemen and also Palestinian groups in recent days are among the factors that have strengthened this speculation." In contrast to the military personnel, "officials in the foreign policy sector rely more on the use of diplomatic leverage and believe that in crises such as those in Syria, Yemen, and other regional countries, there is a greater need for diplomatic tools than military capabilities." The Bahar newspaper warned that "the situation should not progress in such a way that costs, including financial, human, and political, are borne by Iran while the benefits accrue to countries like Russia." It stated: "In today's world, at the end of every war, there is no way but to the negotiating table. Therefore, one cannot achieve real success solely through military capabilities and military presence. Thus, weakening the diplomatic wing of the political system under the pretext of strengthening the military will ultimately be detrimental to the country." The Iran newspaper reported with the headline "Mourning of Girls in Susa" that a bus carrying schoolgirls from the city of Nazarabad in Alborz province, who were sent on a "Road to Light" trip, resulted in at least seven fatalities due to an accident. According to this newspaper, "The bus carrying the schoolgirls from Nazarabad was heading to Khuzestan when it collided with a Toyota on the Susa bypass on Tuesday afternoon. After the incident was reported, rescue teams rushed to the scene and pulled the girls' bodies from the wreckage," but "seven of them died due to the severity of their injuries, and the injured were sent to Golestan Hospital in Ahvaz for treatment." Previously, following the repeated deaths of students in Road to Light bus accidents, officials from the Ministry of Education referred to "escorting" these buses as a safe solution for the Road to Light buses, but Morteza Nazari, head of the Ministry of Education's Information Center, said regarding the accident on Tuesday: "The accident bus had an escort, and five Road to Light caravans had full escort and security, but unfortunately, one of the buses had an accident." According to the Iran newspaper, the Red Crescent Society reported the number of injured in this incident as 42, while some education officials reported it as eight, but "an informed source" told this newspaper that "given the total number of passengers on the bus and its overturning after the accident, the number of injured in this incident is certainly more than eight, and the number of people reported to be in critical condition is eight." Ismail Mohammadi and Zahra Choupankareh, reporters for the Etemad newspaper, reported on "the protests of workers at Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company," noting that on Sunday and Monday, the second and third days of these workers' gatherings, the protesting workers "behind their faces covered with scarves are simple workers who said: 'For eight years, Khuzestan did not allow the enemy to reach Tehran; now you have come from Tehran to be the voice of Khuzestan.'" This newspaper pointed out that "among the crowd, who covered their faces with scarves due to fear of surveillance cameras in the Haft Tappeh sugar factory, a 50-year-old man with an uncovered face and a loud voice said that he is dead, both he and those whose eyes are the only visible part are waiting for five months of unpaid wages," stating: "The waiting has now turned into anger, and the expectation has reached the vast sugarcane fields, emptying them of cane cutters, halting cargo trucks, and bringing the factory to a standstill" because "in Haft Tappeh, around Shush city in Khuzestan province, everything starts and ends with 'sugar.' For the men of the region, sugar means work, for families it means bread, and now the workers' strike means the right to live." The Etemad newspaper reported that the number of protesting workers on different days of these protests ranged from 300 to 500, stating that these workers have not received their wages for five months and have various labor issues with the employer, saying: "For over a year, the factory has been handed over to the private sector. They have come and cut our bread. They have divided us by paying wages to some and not to others. They have created division between Arabs and non-Arabs. We say, 'Sir, pay our wages.' He says, 'In ten days.' It's a lie." This report also mentioned the presence of women and some family members of the protesting Haft Tappeh sugar workers, including the wife of one of the workers who is suffering from cancer, who told Etemad reporters: "I am a cancer patient. My husband has not received his wages for five months. I struggle to gather money for my chemotherapy medications. We borrow money from neighbors. My husband is owed a total of 15 million tomans from the factory. Our voices do not reach anywhere. Many have been bought. I told the factory manager that I am a cancer patient, this is my medical file. I have no money for chemotherapy. He says go take a loan. What loan can I take? I can't even afford my bread, how can I pay installments? Who will give me a loan? The banks here do not accept the guarantees of Haft Tappeh workers. Our insurance has been cut off for several months. Last month, I bought my chemotherapy medications freely. Over one million tomans. Next week, on December 28, I have chemotherapy. I still don't know what to do. We are members of the factory's supplementary insurance fund. For a year, the workers' claims from the supplementary insurance have not been paid. Social security insurance has also been cut off for five months. With what hope should I continue my treatment? Why should I suffer so much? For what?" Etemad recalled that the problems of the workers at Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company began two decades ago, stating: "In February 2016, this factory was privatized. The workers say that the private management in its first meeting with the workers in the factory's prayer room told them: 'Your wages are the pocket change of my pocket, and you no longer need to worry about these trivial matters, just think about work from now on.' But now, about two years after this privatization, 'a new round of labor protests in this factory has begun.'" The Hamdeli newspaper warned about the continuation of the trend of marking students with stars during Hassan Rouhani's government, stating: "Mr. Rouhani should remove the stars from the shoulders of students." Adel Jahan Ara, in a note in this newspaper, wrote about "life-burning stars," noting that the deprivation of a number of students from education occurs while "Hassan Rouhani's government has promised to eliminate discrimination in education and to provide equal opportunities for all students regardless of their background.