Kilometre-long petrol queues in Tehran as Iran confirms fuel price rise
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 panic buying. Videos posted on social media showed lines of vehicles forming in the capital and in nearby Karaj around midnight on Wednesday and continuing into the early morning. Several stations closed before demand could be met, adding to the disruption seen by drivers.
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Officials said the immediate trigger was a surge in demand driven by rumours of shortages, but they also confirmed that petrol prices will rise. Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, Iran's vice president for executive affairs, said on Wednesday evening that fuel prices had to change, while adding that the timing, scale and method had not yet been decided. He said the government would consult those involved before informing the public of the outcome.
The shortage has been described as 15 million litres per day, with officials linking it to sanctions that have reduced imports, strikes on Iranian refining infrastructure and a naval blockade of Iranian ports that has been in place since the war began on 28 February. Mohammad Sadegh Azimifar, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Products Refining and Distribution Company, said consumption in Tehran province had risen by 30% but insisted the supply chain remained stable. Keramat Veis-Karami, managing director of the National Iranian Fuel Distribution Company, said average daily distribution had risen from 138 million litres in Mordad to 150 million litres on Wednesday.
The queues matter because fuel prices in Iran are politically sensitive and any increase can quickly become a wider public issue. Officials acknowledged that the current subsidy system is uneven, with car owners benefiting more from subsidised fuel than people without vehicles. That makes the planned price change significant not only for motorists but also for the broader debate over how the state allocates energy subsidies.
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Iran has faced repeated pressure on its fuel system in recent years, and the latest disruption appears to combine structural shortages with public anxiety. Officials have tried to calm concerns by saying the supply chain is stable and by dismissing shortage rumours as baseless. At the same time, the visible queues in Tehran and Karaj suggest that confidence in the system is fragile.
What remains unclear is when the price rise will take effect and how large it will be. It is also not clear whether the current queues will ease if officials succeed in reassuring drivers or whether demand will remain elevated. The next key signal will be any formal announcement on pricing and any further data on distribution and consumption.
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