Iran cut gasoline subsidy, in test of Rouhani’s support

                   
                                 Fuel cuts becoming major concern for Iranians 

Iran will start cutting gasoline subsidies this week, an official said on Monday, a move that will test Hassan Rouhani’s public support as higher petrol prices add to inflation in a country already squeezed by economic sanctions.
The amount of the subsidy cut - and the corresponding rise in fuel prices - has yet to be announced, but it comes as Rouhani is under criticism from hardline rivals who oppose a cautious thaw in ties with the West that he has pursued since his election in 2013.
A previous subsidy cut, implemented by his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, contributed to a big increase in inflation which, along with sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe over Iran’s nuclear program, rose to more than 40 percent.
In February, Rouhani’s government partially replaced cash subsidies with food handouts. Images of people waiting hours for a few bags of groceries tarnished Rouhani’s image as a competent manager and left him vulnerable to attacks from hardliners.
Motorists with the right to subsidized gasoline receive 60 liters a month at the price of 4,000 Iranian rials ($0.16) a liter, or $0.61 a gallon, using the central bank’s official exchange rate.
Above that, motorists pay 7,000 rials for gasoline, equivalent to $0.27 a liter, or $1.02 a gallon. ($1 = 24797.0000 Iranian Rials)