Car prices jump in Iran as rial slides against foreign currencies

In a message to Ghamari’s successor, Brigadier General Yusuf Hassan al-Madani, Pakpour hailed the slain commander’s “heroic struggle in defending Yemen’s sovereignty and confronting Zionist crimes,” saying his death had “etched a lasting chapter in the history of Yemeni resistance.”

“The IRGC renews its commitment to the lofty ideals of the resistance front and the liberation of al-Quds al-Sharif,” Pakpour said, using the Arabic name for Jerusalem.

“We declare our full readiness to strengthen spiritual and strategic bonds with Yemen’s armed forces in confronting global arrogance and international Zionism.”

He congratulated al-Madani on his appointment, calling him a “steadfast fighter” whose leadership would “continue the proud path of the martyr Ghamari and reinforce the resistance front against the enemies of the Islamic nation.”

The message followed confirmation by Yemen’s Houthi forces last week that Ghamari, their military chief of staff since 2016, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Israel said the attack, which also killed the Houthi-appointed prime minister, targeted senior officials involved in hundreds of missile and drone operations against Israel.

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The Houthis -- backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah -- have intensified drone and missile strikes against Israel since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023. Israeli air raids in Yemen this year have killed dozens of senior Houthi figures and civilians, according to local health authorities.

Yemen remains split between the Iran-backed Houthis, who have controlled Sanaa and much of the north and west since 2014, and the internationally recognized government led by the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) formed in April 2022. Despite a Saudi-led intervention launched in 2015, the Houthis still rule areas housing about two-thirds of Yemen’s population, while the PLC governs parts of the south and east.

Analysts say the group remains heavily dependent on Iranian support for advanced weapon systems, including ballistic missiles and precision-guided drones.

Earlier reports indicated the militia has turned increasingly to drone warfare as shipments of missile components from Iran have been disrupted by naval interceptions.

Tehran denies direct involvement in the Houthis’ attacks but continues to publicly back the group’s campaign against what it calls Zionist aggression and Western hegemony in the region.

Speaking at his weekly press briefing, Baghaei said Iran had notified the United Nations that “with the end of Resolution 2231 on October 18, its provisions have officially terminated.”

Iran’s nuclear rights, he said, remain valid, including the right to enrich uranium and pursue nuclear research and development.

“The rights gained under this resolution, such as enrichment and the expansion of peaceful nuclear activities, continue to stand,” Baghaei added, describing the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as “a temporary and conditional understanding.”

Baghaei also accused the United States of violating international law by withdrawing from the deal in 2018 and criticized European governments for following Washington’s lead and failing to meet their own obligations.

His comments came as Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi formally informed the UN that Iran will no longer implement any of its remaining nuclear-deal commitments.

In a letter to the secretary-general and the president of the Security Council on Saturday, Araghchi said Resolution 2231 had expired “in full accordance with its explicit provisions” and that all restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program had lapsed, ending the Council’s oversight of Tehran’s activities.

"Iran had implemented the JCPOA in good faith and with full precision, while the United States had grossly violated international law by reimposing unilateral sanctions," Araghchi said.

Russia and China back Iran’s stance at UN

Iran’s position on the termination of Resolution 2231, Baghaei said, was supported by Russia and China, two permanent members of the Security Council that opposed efforts by the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to trigger the snapback of UN sanctions.

This outcome, he added, reflected “months of sustained diplomatic engagement,” particularly following talks in New York and the Cairo accord reached with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Moscow and Beijing both made clear that the European powers lacked the legal standing to use the mechanism, since they had already violated the JCPOA.”

Contacts through intermediaries not formal negotiations

Addressing speculation about indirect communications with Washington, Baghaei said contacts through intermediaries “do not signify the start of official negotiations.”

While countries such as Egypt have sought to use their channels to ease tensions, he said, “real dialogue can only occur when both sides reach a shared understanding based on mutual respect.”

Recent discussions between Iran and Egypt centered on the Gaza conflict and the need for an immediate ceasefire, Baghaei said, adding that Tehran’s engagement with Cairo “has focused solely on humanitarian and regional stability issues.”

Joint letter with Russia and China sent to UN

Iran, Russia, and China reiterated their shared position in a joint letter sent to the UN Security Council on Sunday, emphasizing that Resolution 2231 had expired in accordance with its terms, the spokesman added.

“The letter reaffirmed that no valid decision had been adopted to reinstate the previous sanctions and that the legal confusion caused by the European powers’ action holds no bearing on Iran’s rights or its future nuclear activities.”

“The attempt to misuse international institutions for political ends” has created what he called a legal and procedural deadlock, for which “the responsibility lies entirely with the three European governments, not Iran.”

Based on a recent cabinet decision, Tehran lawmaker Hamid Rasaei wrote on X, the cost of fuel delivery and station commissions will soon be added to the pump price, raising the state-subsidized rate from 15,000 rials (about $0.014) per liter to roughly 55,000 rials ($0.05) per liter.

The administration insists no price hike is planned. However, the cabinet recently approved a comprehensive energy-allocation program, which President Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to implement.

The measure obliges the government to fix the widening gap between Iran’s gasoline production and consumption — known as the fuel imbalance — without resorting to the sudden price shocks seen in November 2019.

A series of nationwide protests in Iran, known as Bloody November, took place in 2019. Initially triggered by a 50 to 200-percent increase in fuel prices, the demonstrations quickly turned into calls for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

At least 1,500 people were killed by the Islamic Republic's security forces during those protests, Reuters reported at the time.

Gradual reform and multiple pricing scenarios

Officials say the policy will unfold gradually through non-price reforms such as modernizing vehicles, expanding public transport, promoting compressed natural gas (CNG) use, and improving energy efficiency.

A step-by-step rise in prices would come only after these measures are in place and would follow annual inflation rates.

Several pricing models are under review, according to the local media. One option would introduce a tiered system: subsidized gasoline for low-income households at about 30,000 to 40,000 rials ($0.027–$0.036) per liter, semi-subsidized fuel at 60,000 to 70,000 rials ($0.054–$0.063), and a market rate near 100,000 rials ($0.09) for luxury or high-consumption vehicles.

Another plan would assign monthly fuel quotas per person rather than per car (60 liters now), letting unused portions be sold at market rates. Broader adoption of CNG and incentives for electric and hybrid cars are also being considered to cut reliance on gasoline imports.

Debate over fairness and timing

Analysts estimate that aligning prices with inflation could raise overall consumer prices by 5 to 10 percent but help reduce smuggling, energy waste, and budget deficits.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that economic reform must start with fairness rather than price hikes.

“The first step is not raising prices but making these public resources truly people-centered,” he said.

The government is expected to announce its final decision before presenting the next year’s budget, amid mounting debate over how to balance fiscal needs with public tolerance.

In his post on X, Araghchi said "the exhibition in the British Parliament of a drone falsely and maliciously attributed to Iran is a pathetic scene staged by the Israeli lobby and its sponsors.”

Responding in Polish, Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said it was “nice that Iran’s foreign minister writes in Polish,” but added it “would have been better not to sell drones and licenses for their production to Russia while it was already waging aggression against Ukraine.”

He said Iran should instead “rebuild the Persian civilization that once amazed the world.”

British MP Tom Tugendhat accused Tehran of aiding Russia and Yemen’s Houthis “in murdering others abroad,” saying Iran’s rulers should “focus on the country they’re destroying at home” instead of interfering overseas.

Former US governor Jeb Bush, who chairs the US advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, also called Araghchi’s post “pathetic” and accused Iran of sponsoring “terror militias” while failing to provide its people with electricity and water.

Mark Wallace, the CEO of UANI which organized the drone display, said the exhibit “revealed the regime for what it is: the leading state sponsor of terrorism.”

Wallace accused Araghchi and Iran’s leadership of sending “murderous suicide drones around the world killing and maiming the citizens of over 80 countries.”

The display was held on Tuesday at the British parliament in London and attended by Western and Ukrainian officials.

Following the display, Iran summoned Poland’s chargé d’affaires in Tehran to protest Sikorski’s participation in the event.

Iran denies supplying drones for use in the war, saying it sold a limited number to Russia before the invasion began.

Western governments and Ukraine say Shahed-type drones, designed in Iran and now produced in Russia under the name Geran, have become central to Moscow’s air assaults.

“It started probably with Soleimani. He was a mastermind who did a lot of bad things,” Trump said in a Fox News interview, referring to the late Quds Force commander.

“He’s the father of the roadside bomb that would blow up and maim so many of our great soldiers,” he added.

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020 on Trump’s orders.

The US president said the turning point that paved the way for the Gaza peace earlier this month came in June when US B-2 bombers carried out what he called a “beautiful military operation” against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“They flew for 37 hours, went into Iran’s airspace, and bombed the hell out of it,” he said. “When we destroyed their nuclear capability, they no longer became the bully of the Middle East.”

He said the US operation, along with Israeli strikes on Iran, made possible what he described as peace beyond Gaza.

“We wouldn’t have been able to make the deal we just made, which is basically peace in the Middle East beyond Gaza,” Trump said.

The ceasefire mediated in early October by the United States, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar put an end to over two years of Israeli attacks on Gaza, which started in response to Hamas's October 7 attack.