Reactions to the new gasoline rationing plan: 20 liters per national ID

The head of the Kish Free Zone says that under the “Gasoline for All” plan, every national ID holder is entitled to 20 liters of gasoline. According to him, anyone who doesn’t want to can sell their quota. This plan has met with a lot of reactions.

Mohammad Reza Lavasani, the head of the Kish Free Zone, has called the news of the increase in gasoline prices a "lie" and announced that within the framework of the implementation of the "Gasoline for All" plan on the island, each national ID will be allocated a 20-liter gasoline quota at a rate of 1,500 Tomans per liter. According to him, the difference between the "Gasoline for All" plan and the previous plan is that the quota is allocated to the national ID instead of the vehicle.

According to this plan, gasoline quotas will be granted to all “national ID card holders, with or without a car.” The head of the Kish Free Zone has said that people who do not have a car can sell their fuel subsidy.

The news of the increase in gasoline prices on Qeshm and Kish islands and its extension to the entire country was published in cyberspace in recent days. Following this news, a letter from Mohsen Rezaei, the Vice President for Economic Affairs, written to the Minister of Oil, the Minister of Economy, and the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Free Zones, added to the speculation about the increase in gasoline prices. The letter referred to “redistributing gasoline subsidies by providing gasoline quotas to each person instead of each car.”

This news is reminiscent of the bloody protests of November 2019, which occurred following a sudden increase in energy carriers in Iran and were accompanied by severe and bloody repression.

Confirmations, denials, and reminders of the November disaster

On social media, a few called the plan a step “in the direction of justice,” because “those who don’t have cars will also receive gasoline and decide for themselves what their quota will be.” Many have interpreted the implementation of the plan as the first step toward increasing the price of gasoline and thus putting more pressure on the people.

Government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi, in response to the escalating reactions, rejected the issue of a pilot implementation of a gasoline price increase on the two islands and said that the price of rationed gasoline is 1,500 tomans per liter and free gasoline is 3,000 tomans. Bahadori Jahromi clarified in an interview with news agencies: "Gasoline is not going to become more expensive. The government is not one to make overnight decisions. If a decision is going to be made that will affect the daily and general lives of the people, its various aspects will be considered."

He is also referring to the bloody protests of November 2019. Fereydoun Abbasi, a representative from Kazerun and a member of the Energy Commission, also said, referring to the implementation of this plan in Kish and Qeshm: "The ignorance and mismanagement of November 2019 will not be repeated."

The MP, however, said at the same time: "Anything that is going to be done practically must be done in a small area. Kish and Qeshm are free zones, they can be considered as pilot implementations. But the prerequisites for the work are that expert work must be done."

It wasn't long before Hossein Shamsian, the head of the Kish Free Zone Organization's Social and Cultural Affairs Department, reacted to these statements and said: "People should continue their lives in peace. Changing the prices of energy carriers requires a parliamentary resolution, and basically, the parliament has not had any resolution in this regard, and this news is denied."

An app for selling gasoline quotas!

Amidst these confirmations and denials, what should citizens without cars do with their gasoline allowance under this plan? The head of the Kish Free Zone says that if people do not have a car, they can sell their fuel subsidy.

According to the official, a special application has been designed for selling gasoline quotas. "People who, for whatever reason, are unable to sell their quota or transfer it to someone else will receive the amount automatically in their account after a certain period of time," said Mohammad Reza Lavasani.

One user wrote on Twitter: "When about 50 million Iranians do not have cars and more than 30% of families do not have any cars or motorcycles; providing gasoline quotas to individuals instead of cars could become a serious challenge for a significant portion of the Iranian nation!"

“Attractive investment for people”

Dr. Hassan Moradi, a professor of energy law at the University of Tehran, said in an interview with the "Rokna" news agency: "The people who propose these plans are completely naive about the issue and have very little information."

Emphasizing that he does not consider it advisable to increase gasoline prices in the current situation, the expert said: "The only way the government and parliament have is to implement this gradual price increase annually with a low percentage of 15 to 20 percent, and the people are prepared for it."

Along with the widespread reactions to the new rationing plan and concerns about its generalization and change across the country and the move towards increasing fuel prices, the author of the article "Conditions for the Success of Citizen Gasoline," published in the newspaper Eqtesad on January 1, welcomed the plan and listed the conditions for its success.

The article states: "In this way, if the gasoline quota meets the two conditions of being exchangeable and saveable, it becomes a digital asset and can realize the dream of a national digital currency: that is, a digital currency that is based on a commodity (gasoline) and is accepted in cross-border trade with countries in the region."

The expert author of this article even considered "investing in purchasing and holding quotas" to be "an attractive and inflation-proof investment for people."

Source: DW