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12 million Liters of Fuel Smuggled Out of Iran Every Day

Hoshang Amiri
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12 million Liters of Fuel Smuggled Out of Iran Every Day

A member of the Iranian regime’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Mines reported that 12 million liters of fuel are smuggled daily from Iran to neighboring countries, adding that the annual value of this smuggled fuel is 4 billion dollars, with 3.5 billion dollars being “pure windfall profit.”

On Sunday, August 25, Ali Shams-Ardakani added that smugglers take the fuel to the city of Van in Turkey, where they barter it for clothing, shoes, and other products.

Ardakani also claimed to have the names of those involved in fuel smuggling to Turkey but refrained from disclosing them.

He stated that the price of gasoline in Afghanistan is 400,000 rials (approximately $0.66) and that Iranian fuel is also being smuggled into this market.

Reuters news agency reported last fall, citing Pakistani officials, that 4 million liters of fuel are smuggled daily from Iran to Pakistan, where it is sold cheaply at gas stations.

Ardakani did not explain how the daily smuggling of 12 million liters of fuel, requiring hundreds of large tanker trucks, could be carried out by ordinary people, but The Washington Post reported in January 2022, citing sources, that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is at the center of the large fuel smuggling network in Iran.

Transparency International ranks Iran 149th out of 180 countries in terms of financial corruption.

Due to the sharp decline in the value of the rial in recent years, Iran offers the cheapest gasoline in the world to its citizens, and the significant price difference between domestic and international markets fuels smuggling.

Ardakani states: “The smugglers illegally export fuel and simultaneously bring in contraband goods to sell in Iran for cash. In other words, they send out fuel and bring in clothing, curtains, shoes, and other items.”

This member of the Chamber of Commerce described the situation as “smuggling within smuggling,” explaining that fuel smuggling to Turkey is exchanged for smuggled clothing. He added, “I estimate that this type of smuggling has destroyed nearly sixty thousand jobs in our consumer industries.”

So far, Iranian regime officials have provided various figures on the volume of fuel smuggling out of the country.

Jalil Salari, the former head of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, said in July of this year that by monitoring the transportation sector and digitizing shipping documents, 10 million liters of gasoline are saved daily.

He explained: “According to reports, fuel smuggling occurs in such a way that diesel, which is priced at 7,000 rials per liter (approximately $0.011) domestically, is sold for 130,000 rials per liter (approximately $0.216) at the border of neighboring countries. This price difference brings significant profits to opportunists and fuel smugglers.”

According to government-set prices, state-subsidized diesel is sold for 3,000 rials per liter (approximately $0.005) and at the free market price of 6,000 rials per liter (approximately $0.01).

However, distribution service stations sometimes sell each liter of diesel for much more than the set price, ranging from 25,000 to 70,000 rials (approximately $0.041 to $0.011).

Meanwhile, Malek Shariati, a member of the Iranian Parliament and the Energy Committee, estimated that 5 million liters of gasoline and 10 million liters of diesel are smuggled daily.

90,000 People In Iran Own 500,000 vacant homes

Esmaeil Mohades
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90,000 People In Iran Own 500,000 vacant homes

Abolfazl Norouzi, Director General of the Housing Economics Office at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, stated that there are more than 500,000 vacant housing units in the country, owned by no more than 90,000 individuals.

On Friday, August 23, Norouzi warned the owners of vacant homes, saying that the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development is identifying these empty houses under certain articles of the Direct Tax Law and reporting them to the Tax Administration.

He added that the necessary warnings have been issued to the owners of the identified units, with priority given to those who own more than 100 housing units.

According to this official from the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, among the owners of these 500,000 vacant homes, some possess more than 50, 20, 10, or 3 vacant houses, and they are next in line to be reported to the Tax Administration.

Mr. Norouzi says that the government’s approach to this issue is “not revenue-oriented,” but rather aimed at bringing these homes to the market. However, he had previously predicted that “30 trillion rials (approximately $50 million)” in taxes could be collected from vacant homes.

In June 2023, Abolfazl Norouzi announced that the Ministry of Roads had “detailed residency information for 73 million Iranians” and warned that if heads of households did not register their home information in the “National Real Estate and Housing System,” they would be fined.

Ebrahim Raisi’s government claimed that the plan to tax vacant homes was an effort to reduce the rising prices of housing and rent. However, more than a year after the implementation of this plan, reports indicate that housing prices continue to rise.

Less than three years after Raisi’s government took office, the housing crisis in Iran has reached unprecedented levels, with an ordinary worker now needing to wait over two centuries to buy a standard apartment in Tehran.

Davood Beigi-Nejad, Vice President of the Real Estate Union, also reported on August 18 that the market for rent, buying, and selling properties is experiencing stagflation, noting that the average rent in Tehran has increased by over 50%, and considering the rising housing prices, renters no longer think about buying a home.

Moreover, Central Bank statistics show that under Raisi’s government, housing prices in Tehran have increased by 2.7 times.

Price Of Food In Iran Almost Tripled In Three Years

Jubin Katiraie
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Price Of Food In Iran Almost Tripled In Three Years

New data from the Statistical Center of Iran shows that from the beginning of the Persian calendar year1400 (March 21, 2021) to August 21, 2024, the prices of food and beverages in the country have increased by 194%.

Thus, during the three-year period of the 13th government, food prices have nearly tripled.

The report from the Statistical Center, published on its website, also shows that inflation for the 12 months leading up to August this year was 34.8% compared to the same period last year.

During this period, Esfahan, West Azerbaijan, and Kurdistan experienced the highest annual inflation growth, while Sistan and Baluchestan saw the lowest, with an annual inflation rate of 25%.

Additionally, the prices of goods and services in August this year increased by 31.6% compared to August last year (point-to-point inflation).

The highest point-to-point inflation in August was in Ilam, and the lowest was in Sistan and Baluchestan.

Annual and point-to-point inflation rates in urban areas in August were higher than those in rural households.

Last month, the highest price increase compared to August 2023 was in public transportation services, which saw a 54% jump, followed by housing and rent inflation, both of which were reported to be 43%.

The Statistical Center’s report also claims that the price of oils and fats in August this year, compared to the same month last year, not only did not increase but actually decreased by 0.7%.

This claim comes despite the fact that oils and fats, following red meat, have had the highest price increase among food items since March 2021, with a 278% rise in prices since then.

Overall, the highest inflation rates since March 21, 2021, were recorded in the winter of 2022 and the spring of 2023, during which the Statistical Center and Central Bank suspended the publication of monthly inflation reports for several months.

However, after the Statistical Center resumed the publication of monthly inflation reports last summer, it became clear that point-to-point inflation had exceeded 50% during those months.

Iranian Authorities Close Khavaran Cemetery to Families of Prisoners Executed in 1980s

Hoshang Amiri
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Iranian Authorities Close Khavaran Cemetery to Families of Prisoners Executed in 1980s

Iranian regime agents once again prevented the families of political prisoners executed in the 1980s from entering Khavaran Cemetery in Tehran to hold a memorial ceremony.

A group of families of political prisoners executed in the 1980s visited Khavaran Cemetery on Friday, August 23, to commemorate their loved ones.

According to the report, in addition to closing the cemetery gates, the government agents also removed the photos and flowers that the families had placed at the entrance of the cemetery.

For some time now, the Iranian government has been preventing Khavaran families from visiting the cemetery while simultaneously forcibly burying the bodies of Baha’i citizens in the section designated for political prisoners executed in the summer of 1988.

The Khavaran families believe that the Iranian regime’s goal is to erase the “evidence of the crime of massacring political prisoners in the 1980s, especially in the summer of 1988,” and they have repeatedly protested this practice.

Khavaran Cemetery, located in southeastern Tehran along Khavaran Road and adjacent to several cemeteries belonging to religious minorities, contains the bodies of thousands of political and ideological prisoners executed in the summer of 1988. They were buried secretly and without identification in mass graves.

These political prisoners, who were members and supporters of opposition political organizations, especially the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), were executed by order of the so-called “Death Committee.”

A recent report by Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, designated the executions of political prisoners in the 1980s as “atrocity crimes” and “crimes against humanity.” The 1988 massacre, in particular, was described as a “genocide.”

Iran’s Regime Owes 1.1 Quadrillion Rials to Wheat Farmers

Mehdi Hosseini
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Iran’s Regime Owes 1.1 Quadrillion Rials to Wheat Farmers

According to the Iranian state television news agency, Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh said in a television program, “Since the formation of the government, the payment of wheat farmers has been semi-officially pursued, and we were looking for resources.” He added that the remaining government debt will be paid in October.

He did not explain how this massive debt to farmers would be paid within less than two months and with what financial resources.

In recent months, Iranian regime officials have repeatedly promised to settle the accounts with wheat farmers, but these promises have not yet been fulfilled. This issue has led to protests by farmers, including gatherings.

In this connection, according to the Coordinating Council of Teachers’ Associations in Iran, dozens of wheat farmers in Kermanshah gathered in front of the governor’s office on Wednesday, August 21, to protest the non-payment of their dues and the low price of wheat.

Meanwhile, the Shargh newspaper reported that “in about 10 days, autumn planting will begin in the cold regions of Iran,” but noted that “farmers are empty-handed and have been forced to go into debt to buy fertilizer, pesticides, seeds, and rent machinery.”

The newspaper emphasized that “the government owes a heavy sum to wheat farmers and constantly delays the settlement,” and quoting the National Wheat Farmers Foundation, it stated that the government’s debt to farmers exceeds 1.1 quadrillion rials.

According to this report, “Since March 26 of this year, when spring wheat farmers delivered their wheat to the government, the payment for the purchased wheat has not been settled.”

Shargh pointed out that to date, the government has purchased “more than 11.6 million tons” of wheat from farmers, and the purchase of wheat continues, but there is no news of the payment.

One of the farmers in Ardabil province told this newspaper that the government does not pay the farmers’ wheat money or pays it with a significant delay, which has disrupted the farming schedule and reduced agricultural productivity.

A farmer said the banks are not willing to easily provide loans, and some farmers have been forced to sell their cars, carpets, and household items to resume farming.

He noted that no store is willing to sell seeds, fertilizer, or pesticides on credit to farmers, which has put farmers under pressure, and added that banks are also not willing to easily give loans, forcing some farmers to sell their cars, carpets, and household items to resume farming.

Another farmer in Semnan province told Shargh that rural household income is lower than urban household income, and farmers do not have the ability to save, and this behavior of the government has put rural household livelihoods under pressure.

According to this report, citing the Statistical Centre of Iran, the average annual income of urban households in 2022 was about 1.67 billion rials (approximately $2,784), and the average annual expenditure of urban households was estimated at about 1.37 billion rials (approximately $2,284). Meanwhile, the average annual income of rural households was only about 980 million rials (approximately $1,634), and the average annual expenditure of rural households was about 790 million rials (approximately $1,317).

Wheat is considered one of the most important strategic commodities in the agricultural sector, playing a significant role in household consumption.

The delay in the government’s payment of debts to wheat farmers in recent years has led to farmers’ protests, where each public protest has resulted in the payment of part of the debts, but the government has still not properly fulfilled its commitments regarding the “guaranteed purchase” of wheat from farmers.

Meanwhile, farmers face other problems that have put them under greater economic pressure.

Ali Naqi Imani, regime’s Vice President of the National Wheat Farmers Foundation, told Shargh that farmers are facing great difficulties in obtaining fertilizer for autumn planting, and urea fertilizer has become scarce in the market.

According to him, petrochemical companies have refused to supply fertilizer to the Agricultural Support Services Company in the past two to three months to increase the price of urea fertilizer, and the price of urea fertilizer has now risen by 132%. This is while the guaranteed purchase price of wheat this year has only increased by 16%.

He emphasized that the situation of other agricultural inputs is the same, and farmers’ incomes do not match their expenses at all, and the economic strength of farmers is weakening year by year.

Minimum Price of Land and Housing Construction in Tehran is $1,134 Per Square Meter

Sia Rajabi
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Minimum Price of Land and Housing Construction in Tehran is $1,134 Per Square Meter

Farshid Pourhajat, the Secretary of the National Association of Mass Builders of Iran, stated that the “minimum cost” of housing construction in Tehran, considering land prices and excluding ancillary costs such as permits, is at least 680 million rials (approximately $1,134) per square meter.

On Thursday, August 22, Pourhajat told the Entekhab website that the inability of the middle and lower classes to purchase homes was evident from the beginning of this year (March 21) due to “the continued inflation in housing.”

The Real Estate Consultants’ Union had also predicted in March of this year that with the rise in the dollar exchange rate, there is a likelihood of repeating the experience of stagflation in the housing market this year.

Pourhajat, dismissing the government’s “fabricated statistics” as unrealistic, stated that the real data corresponds to the actual market prices. He explained, “In Tehran, the average price has risen above 800 million rials (approximately $1,334), and in smaller cities, you can’t find a house for less than 40 billion rials (approximately $66,667).”

He mentioned that the minimum cost of housing construction, excluding land prices and other expenses such as permits, risk costs, and processes, is 180 million rials (approximately $300) per square meter.

According to the Secretary of the National Association of Mass Builders, land prices in Tehran are currently not less than 500 million rials (approximately $834) per square meter.

On July 29, the ISNA news agency reported that “the price of housing in the capital has reached 860 million rials (approximately $1,434) per square meter.” The report stated, “Since December 2017, housing prices in Tehran have increased by 1,590%, rising from an average of 50.9 million rials to 859 million rials.”

In mid-September last year, Hamshahri newspaper, the official news outlet of the Tehran Municipality, confirmed the recession in the housing and construction sector in a report, stating that the housing market entered one of its hardest recessions after the unreasonable price surge in the winter of 2022.

The report pointed to the decline in cash flow in the housing market and the inability of some mass builders to continue construction, emphasizing that the halt in cash injections from the banking system is one of the factors contributing to the recession in construction.

In his interview with Entekhab, Pourhajat emphasized that the production ceiling is “below 400,000 units per year.”

According to him, statistics for the first two months of the year have not been fully extracted, but field surveys indicate a “decrease in production compared to last year.”

On April 29 of this year, Baitollah Sattarian, a housing expert, stated in an interview that Iran needs one million housing units annually, but only 200,000 homes are being built.

Ebrahim Raisi, the president of the fourteenth government, had promised during his election campaign to build one million housing units annually.

However, Masoud Pezeshkian, the fourteenth president, during his election debates, emphasized that “it is not possible to build one million housing units per year” and without providing further details, said, “I will implement whatever is legally possible and within my capacity.”

In mid-October 2023, after eight months of withholding and censoring data, the Statistical Centre of Iran reported a record annual housing inflation rate of 84% in the capital in October.

A look at rental prices reveals that, contrary to the claims of Iranian regime officials, rents have increased by an average of 130% in Tehran and other cities.

Currently, rent has become one of the most significant economic concerns for Iranians.

Average GPA of Iranian High School Seniors Drops to 10.89/20

Jubin Katiraie
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Average GPA of Iranian High School Seniors Drops to 10.89/20

The head of the Iranian regime’s Education Evaluation and Quality Assessment Center says that the average GPA for the three main fields of Experimental Sciences, Mathematics, and Humanities in the 12th grade, the final year of high school, is “10.89” (out of 20).

On Wednesday, August 21, Mohsen Zarei, evaluating these scores as “satisfactory,” stated: “There has been a 0.55 increase in scores across the three fields.”

Mr. Zarei also announced that the average GPA for 12th graders in the Experimental Sciences field has reached “12,” in Mathematics “11.82,” and in Humanities “9.13.”

He further stated: “The performance of 10th-grade students has been better compared to those in the 11th and 12th grades.”

According to this education official, the average final exam scores of non-governmental schools in all three grades are lower than those of public schools.

While Mohsen Zarei described this year’s high school students’ scores in Iran as “satisfactory,” some journalists and teachers’ union activists have attributed these scores to poor “policy-making” by the ministry.

In the new academic year, more than 1.19 million students have been deprived of education.

Additionally, the country is facing a shortage of more than 200,000 educational staff, and the share of education in the public budget bill is “9.83 percent.”

Previously, the education policies had faced severe criticism from many professional organizations.

The Iranian regime has recently forced experienced teachers into retirement and has employed clerics as teachers in many schools to exert greater control over the youth.

89 People Convicted for Participating in Iran’s November 2019 Protests

Mehdi Hosseini
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89 People Convicted for Participating in Iran’s November 2019 Protests

Five years after Iran’s November 2019 protests, in which security forces killed 1,500 civilians, the Iranian regime’s judiciary convicted 89 residents of the city of Likak, located in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, for participating in these protests.

According to the HRANA website, these 89 individuals, who were arrested during the November 2019 protests and later released on bail, were convicted nearly five years later in a joint case by the First Branch of the Likak Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, and their case has been sent to court.

The November 2019 protests in Iran initially erupted in response to a sudden and steep increase in fuel prices, but they quickly took on an anti-regime nature, with protest gatherings against the Iranian regime spreading across 29 provinces and hundreds of cities within a week.

The First Branch of the Likak Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, presided over by Mehrdad Soltani, convicted these 89 citizens on charges including “disturbing public order and peace, destruction, and arson of public and government property.”

In the months following the November 2019 massacre, Amnesty International reported that the impoverished neighborhoods on the outskirts of Tehran had the highest death tolls with 163 killed, followed by Khuzestan Province with 57 killed, and Kermanshah Province with 30 killed.

Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, the then Minister of Interior in Hassan Rouhani’s government, confirmed at that time the death of approximately 225 people.

In addition, at least 6,000 deaths with “unknown causes” were recorded in November 2019.

Observers say the high death toll in these protests occurred after a speech by Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Iranian regime, on November 16, when he ordered a harsh and severe crackdown on the gatherings.

Khamenei called the protesters “thugs, counter-revolutionaries, and enemies.” The Iranian regime responded to these protests with brutality and also shut down the internet across the country for a period.

All Cabinet Ministers Are Appointed by the Leader of the Iranian Regime

Esmaeil Mohades
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All Cabinet Ministers Are Appointed by the Leader of the Iranian Regime

Unprecedented remarks by Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of the Iranian regime, in the open session of the Majlis (Parliament) about coordinating his cabinet with the leader of the regime have sparked a wave of criticism.

Although the Majlis representatives approved all of Pezeshkian’s proposed ministers after these statements, some social media users have commented that in the history of the Iranian regime, no president has ever so openly demonstrated that they have accepted the role of a puppet under the regime’s leader. It was already evident that in the dictatorship of the Iranian regime, elections and votes have no impact on the final outcome.

Pezeshkian had previously stated openly that he would coordinate his cabinet list with Ali Khamenei. However, on Wednesday, August 21, although he repeatedly asked the representatives not to force him to delve into details, he provided unprecedented specifics about how his cabinet was coordinated with the regime’s leader.

He mentioned, for example, that Abbas Salehi, the proposed Minister of Culture, agreed to have his name on the cabinet list only after a phone call from Khamenei, that Abbas Araghchi, the proposed Foreign Minister, was the first candidate approved by Khamenei, and that Khamenei himself said Farzaneh Sadegh should be included in the cabinet as Minister of Roads and Urban Development.

In Parliament, Pezeshkian not only spoke about coordinating the cabinet with the leader of the Iranian regime but also added regarding some ministers: “We did not proceed without coordination—whether with the committees or with the higher-ups (referring to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the regime)—and those we had to coordinate with.”

These statements imply that in addition to the leader of the Iranian regime, the approval of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other parallel security and intelligence agencies was also obtained for the cabinet list.

Several conservative figures, both inside and outside Parliament, who oppose Pezeshkian and his plans, have criticized the President for “spending” the political capital of the regime’s leader.

Hossein Shariatmadari, Ali Khamenei’s representative at the Kayhan Institute (the largest state media outlet supporting Khamenei), who had previously urged the representatives not to approve some ministers, labeled Pezeshkian’s claims of “coordination” with Khamenei as “allegations” and wrote that “his claim immediately became a pretext for the state’s overt enemies to undermine democracy, the position of Majlis, and even the President’s powers in the Islamic Republic by citing Mr. Pezeshkian’s statements.”

While some political figures, either genuinely or in praise of the regime’s leader, have called the approval of Pezeshkian’s entire cabinet “the beginning of a new chapter in Iran’s political life,” the opposition has referred to the fourteenth government as the “most appointed” cabinet.

Others, including some journalists from government-affiliated newspapers, have written that after Pezeshkian’s remarks, it can now be said that the “Leadership Council” to form the cabinet, chaired by former foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, which had been widely promoted for some time, was of no significance, and the main player was the leader of the Iranian regime.

Although in the 45-year history of the regime ruling Iran, no free elections have ever been held, and the Iranian people have moved beyond this entire government, it has once again been proven that expecting democracy from the Iranian regime is nothing but a mirage. While this is clear to the regime’s Western counterparts, their economic interests lie in appeasing the Iranian regime. However, the price of this policy must be paid by the people of Iran and the region. The only correct policy against the mullahs’ government is firmness. The Iranian people have repeatedly demonstrated in past uprisings that they can confront this regime on their own.

Tehran’s Air Has Become More Polluted Than Last Year, Agency Reports

Hoshang Amiri
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Tehran’s Air Has Become More Polluted Than Last Year, Agency Reports

The Tehran Air Quality Control Company has released new statistics indicating that the air quality in the capital has been “more polluted” since the beginning of the current Iranian year (starting March 21) compared to last year.

The report states that in the 154 days since June 19, the air in the capital has been polluted 33% of the time, whereas last year, it was polluted 25% of the time.

The air quality in three areas of Tehran was also declared “red” on Wednesday, August 21. According to the Tehran Air Quality Control Company, the air quality index (AQI) in the capital is currently at 109, making the air unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Tehran Air Quality Control Company has identified the activity of dust-generating sources and an unprecedented rise in temperatures since late July as factors exacerbating Tehran’s air pollution.

This claim comes as official statistics from the Ministry of Oil show that the Iranian government has significantly increased the amount of non-standard additives in gasoline to compensate for fuel shortages.

The confidential report from the Ministry of Oil reveals that last year, while gasoline consumption in the country grew by 10.5%, refined gasoline production only increased by 1.5%. This situation worsened at the start of this spring, with daily refined gasoline production at 93 million liters in March, while consumption was 118 million liters.

In March, the government added 25 million liters of various additives or petrochemical-produced gasoline to the refinery base gasoline to prevent a fuel shortfall. By comparison, last year’s gasoline additives amounted to 15 million liters, and in 2018, it was only 5 million liters.

The sharp increase in the use of additives in gasoline is due to a four-million-liter drop in daily gasoline production by the country’s refineries at the beginning of this year and the continued growth in domestic gasoline consumption.

It is not exactly clear what the current status of base gasoline production, the volume of non-standard additives (including chemicals, petrochemical products, MTBE, etc.), and gasoline consumption has been during this summer.

On the other hand, domestic automakers produced and released 1.5 million vehicles into the local market last year. In addition to their low quality and safety, fuel consumption of vehicles made in Iran is much higher than global standards, which has contributed to increased fuel consumption and further air pollution.

Iran is also facing an increasing gas deficit and has been raising the use of polluting fuels like mazut and diesel every year due to the gas shortage, despite having the world’s second-largest gas reserves.

Last year, the head of the Health, Environment, and Urban Services Commission of Tehran’s City Council criticized the government for “concealing mazut burning” in power plants, revealing that in 2021, air pollution caused 6,398 deaths in Tehran.

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