Kilometre-long petrol queues in Iran signal further strain on Tehran
Iran is facing severe fuel shortages and panic buying, leading to long queues at petrol stations across the country. Government officials have confirmed that fuel prices will increase, citing structural issues exacerbated by international sanctions and infrastructure damage.
Why it matters
The fuel crisis highlights the deepening economic strain on Iran caused by ongoing geopolitical conflicts and the effectiveness of international sanctions on its energy sector.
Long queues stretched for kilometres outside petrol stations in Tehran and other Iranian cities in the early hours of Thursday as a daily fuel shortfall collided with a surge in panic buying, and government officials simultaneously confirmed that petrol prices will rise, without specifying when or by how much.Videos posted on social media showed lines of vehicles forming in the capital and nearby city of Karaj around midnight on Wednesday and lasting into the early hours, with several stations closing before demand could be met.Officials attributed the surge to rumours of shortages, but the scale of the disruption and the announcement of a price increase suggested a growing structural problem.The shortfall of 15 million litres per day is the result of US sanctions that have curtailed imports, US-Israeli strikes on Iranian refining infrastructure and the naval blockade of Iranian ports that has been in place since the war began on…
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