Qaimpanah: Plan for 80,000-toman gasoline is not on the government's agenda

Tehran — IRNA — Mohammad-Jafar Qaimpanah, the executive deputy to the president, stressed that a plan to set gasoline at 80,000 tomans is not at all on the government's agenda. He said that balancing fuel prices would require balancing wages and salaries for workers and pensioners, explaining that if fuel prices are to be aligned with international levels, incomes must be addressed too. He recalled remarks from his visit to the anti-smuggling task force, noting that the long-term idea was to tackle fuel smuggling by addressing price gaps and distributing energy subsidies more fairly. He argued that the gap between Iran’s fuel prices and those in neighboring countries is a major driver of smuggling and that solving the problem would involve moving subsidies toward the international price in the long run. He emphasized that the current priority is not to raise gasoline or diesel now; rather, the proposal was presented as a long-term concept to curb smuggling and to highlight corruption chokepoints. He also pointed out that per-capita energy consumption is high, with about 30 million liters being smuggled daily, and that extensive institutions have been created to fight smuggling. In reiterating the point, he said the plan is not an immediate government policy but an idea to address smuggling and fairness by bringing energy subsidies closer to international levels and compensating people accordingly. He noted that wealthier individuals who own multiple houses, villas, and cars consume more subsidies, which is unfair to those with fewer resources.