DUBAI: Iranians have rushed to gas stations to fill their cars before a price surge expected at midnight on Thursday, as President Hassan Rouhani pushes ahead with a policy to cut fuel subsidies.

The new prices of subsidised petrol, diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) have not been announced, but the increases will test Rouhani’s support among a population battered by soaring inflation that has been exacerbated by economic sanctions.

With memories of riots at the pumps when cheap fuel was rationed for the first time, in 2007, police are on the alert, but do not

expect trouble, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said.

“We have been preparing for two months to implement these plans in provinces, cities and rural areas,” state news agency IRNA quoted Rahmani Fazli as saying on Thursday “Considering the planning, it is expected that the second phase of target subsidies will take place without any problems or displeasure from people.”

Rouhani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, last cut subsidies for fuel, food and utilities in December 2010.

There were no riots, but the impact on inflation - which shot up from a record low of 8.8 per cent in August 2010 to around 40pc by the end of his term, exacerbated by tightened Western sanctions — was a major cause of public resentment.

Rouhani, who secured a surprise election win last June, has taken Iran into substantive talks with world powers on Iran’s nuclear programme, hoping to get Europe and the United States to lift their sanctions.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.