Iran’s Protests Are About More Than Rising Fuel Prices

The most serious protests Iran has seen at least since 2017 were triggered by a government decision to raise gasoline prices, but the unrest took a broader anti-establishment turn. Anger has deepened in Iran since the last demonstrations. U.S. President Donald Trump’s all-out offensive on Iran’s economy has plunged the country into a deep slump, and the cleric-led regime has offered no effective reply.

Iran, a major oil producer, has some of the most heavily subsidized gasoline in the world. With the hike, it still costs just 13 cents a liter (up 50%) for the first 60 liters and 27 cents after that. President Hassan Rouhani’s government said the increase was designed to generate revenue to help the needy, who’ve been badly squeezed by the economic slowdown. But energy subsidies are a drain on the state, costing $69 billion in 2018, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency. That’s especially true with government revenues, which rely heavily on oil sales, hit by U.S. sanctions imposed as to part of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign to roll back Iran’s power in the Middle East and undermine its leadership at home. Crude oil exports have fallen to about 250,000 barrels per day, from a peak of 2.5 million barrels per day in April 2018.