Iran’s Vice President for Executive Affairs, Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, publicly acknowledged Wednesday that the country can no longer import foreign fuel to make up for domestic refining deficits due to an ongoing United States naval blockade.
​Speaking in Tehran on Wednesday, August 26, Ghaempanah gave a rare admission of the growing strain on Iran’s economic infrastructure. “Petrol production is insufficient, and because of the US naval blockade, we cannot import it,” the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) quoted Ghaempanah as saying.
​The declaration follows days of expanding queues outside gas stations across major Iranian cities. Economic pressure has intensified following the outbreak of military conflict between Washington and Tehran on February 28, during which Iran asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. responded with a counter-blockade encompassing Iranian sea ports.
​Ghaempanah also criticized the country’s heavily subsidized fuel system, hinting at political pressure to overhaul distribution mechanisms. “The distribution of petrol in the country is inequitable. Owners of several vehicles benefit from subsidies, unlike those who do not own one,” he said.
​His comments align with statements made on Monday, August 24, by Mohsen Haji-Mirzaei, Chief of Staff to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Speaking in Tehran, Haji-Mirzaei confirmed that national fuel quotas are undergoing an active government review, though he refrained from detailing potential price hikes or allocation cuts.
​Iran maintains some of the world’s cheapest retail fuel prices due to state subsidies. However, with U.S. naval forces intercepting commercial and tanker traffic bound for Iranian terminals in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, Tehran’s ability to plug its daily fuel production deficits through sea imports has effectively stalled.
