Mohammad Jafar Ghaemian, the Executive Vice President, in response to questions regarding the increase in gasoline prices to 80,000 Tomans, emphasized that this plan is not on the government's agenda at all. He pointed to the current state of fuel prices and their impacts on people's lives, stressing the need to pay attention to equity in subsidy distribution.
Balancing Fuel Prices and Existing Challenges
Ghaemian stated: "If we want to balance fuel prices, we must also balance the salaries and wages of employees, retirees, and other sectors." These remarks come as he visited the headquarters for combating smuggling of goods and currency, where he referred to the daily smuggling of 30 million liters of gasoline and diesel, adding that this level of smuggling occurs due to price differences between Iran and neighboring countries.
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Proposed Solutions to Combat Fuel Smuggling
The Executive Vice President further referred to long-term policies to address the issue of fuel smuggling and said: "We must balance energy carrier prices in such a way that not only the economic security of the country is ensured but also fuel smuggling is reduced." He also pointed to the necessity of fair subsidy distribution, stating that currently, wealthy individuals benefit more from subsidies while low-income groups utilize them less.
Ghaemian emphasized that to combat fuel smuggling, attention must be paid to corruption bottlenecks and necessary reforms must be made in this regard. He said: "If necessary reforms in fuel prices are not made, smuggling will continue." These statements reflect serious challenges in managing the fuel market and ensuring energy supply in the country.
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