Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, the Executive Assistant to the President, during a visit to the Smart Monitoring Center of the Central Headquarters for Combating Smuggling of Goods and Currency, referred to the complex dimensions of fuel smuggling and estimated the volume of this phenomenon at 30 million liters per day. He attributed this situation to the lack of rationalization of energy prices and stressed the necessity of public cooperation to overcome this challenge.
Analysis of Prices and Fuel Smuggling
Ghaempanah continued by comparing the price of diesel in Iran and neighboring countries, stating that each liter of diesel in Turkey costs 230,000 tomans and in Afghanistan and Pakistan 280,000 tomans. He added: "The existence of such a price gap makes smuggling profitable, and some even consider it a type of service." The Executive Assistant to the President also pointed out that fuel smugglers do not feel guilty, unlike drug dealers, and this issue reflects the depth of the existing challenges in this area.
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Consequences of Rationalizing Energy Prices
He presented economic statistics, noting that if energy is supplied at regional prices, the country would benefit from nearly 720 trillion tomans annually. This revenue means that each Iranian would receive approximately 7 million tomans, and each four-member family would have a monthly share of 28 million tomans.
Ghaempanah also criticized the imbalance in subsidies and the injustice in energy distribution, explaining that some individuals with large properties receive subsidies several times greater than an elderly woman in Hormozgan. This type of unfair distribution contradicts the principles of Ali's governance.
Analysis of the Approach of the Headquarters for Combating Smuggling of Goods and Currency
In this meeting, Habibollah Haghighi, the head of the Headquarters for Combating Smuggling of Goods and Currency, also analyzed the return of nearly 6.5 billion dollars to the official cycle and stated: "Smuggling is a result of an unhealthy economic process." He emphasized that when official imports face bureaucratic complexities and high costs, smuggling becomes an easy and profitable option for economic actors.
Haghighi pointed out the price difference between smuggled goods and legal goods, stating: "Some teams import goods with the same standards and brands at half the price and in less time, which makes smuggling an economic choice." He also stressed the need to change strategies from confrontational approaches to softer and preventive approaches, stating that without structural reforms, smuggling problems will increase day by day.
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