On Wednesday, December 18, the Iranian regime’s Minister of Energy Abbas Aliabadi stated: “In case of fuel shortages, we may be forced to impose power outages, but efforts will be made to minimize them.”
He added: “About 12 to 13 power plants in the northern half of the country are facing fuel shortages, while the situation is better in the southern half.”
At the same time, Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, Governor of Tehran, stated on Wednesday that contrary to the government’s stated goal of reducing fuel and energy consumption through shutdowns, these closures have led to increased travel, heavier traffic, higher gasoline usage, and consequently more pollution.
As the energy shortage crisis continues in Iran, government officials in Tehran and several other provinces announced the closure of schools for Thursday, switching to remote learning.
Due to the rising air pollution index in Tehran, football matches scheduled for Thursday and Friday in the province were also canceled.
Hossein Kermanpour, head of the Health Ministry’s Information Center, warned that on days when air pollution levels rise, the number of cardiovascular patients visiting hospitals in affected cities increases by up to 100%.
He added: “In cities with even worse pollution, this figure rises to 150- to 160%.”
Simultaneously, the director general of Tehran’s Blood Transfusion Organization announced a sharp decline in blood donations due to air pollution and severe cold weather.
A new round of closures began on December 8, and on December 10, Tehran’s governorate announced that schools, universities, and government offices would close on Wednesday and Thursday due to air pollution.
After Friday, December 13, the capital had only one working day (Saturday), during which it was announced that Tehran would close again from Sunday, December 15, with similar closures enforced in other parts of the country.
Simultaneously, power and gas outages have caused significant problems for the public.
As the energy and fuel crisis persists, Tehran Gas Company announced the closure of 390 public and private pools in the province. The company’s deputy stated that only pools used by national teams and facilities for treating war-injured veterans remain operational.
The daily economic damage caused by the new round of closures of many government centers across the provinces is estimated at no less than 50 trillion rials (approximately $65 million).
According to industry activists, under the current trend that began in the summer, small industrial units operate only two to three days a week, yet owners are required to pay workers’ full wages.
The damages are not limited to industrial parks; even urban bakeries have suffered losses.
Units continually suffering losses due to closures will face challenges in paying taxes, and if expected tax revenues are not realized, the government budget will face a deficit.
The current crisis in Iran has resulted from years of accumulated problems and insufficient investment in the energy sector. Resolving this crisis requires $250 billion in the oil and gas sector and $19 billion in the electricity sector.
