Iran sold its first cargo of imported premium “super” gasoline on the Tehran Energy Exchange on Sunday with the base price set at 658,000 rials a liter ($0.58), state media reported.
The shipment totaled 300,000 liters and will be delivered to a distributor on November 29, with supplies expected to reach filling stations within 7 to 10 days, according to the exchange’s chief executive.
IRNA said the 658,000-rial base is not the final retail price, because transport and station fees will be added, meaning premium fuel for higher-end cars could cost at least 33–35 million rials ($29–$31) to fill a 50-liter tank, and potentially closer to 37.5 million rials ($33) if sold around 750,000 rials a liter ($0.66).
The exchange’s upcoming trading board showed no new premium gasoline offer for Tuesday, suggesting the next batch may be delayed to next week.
The sale comes amid renewed debate over Iran’s fuel subsidies six years after nationwide protests erupted over a gasoline price hike in November 2019.
Officials have framed imported premium gasoline as a market-priced, third-tier option rather than a direct change to subsidized quotas, but President Masoud Pezeshkian has said there is “no doubt” prices must rise, and government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani has put the state’s cost of gasoline at about 700,000 rials a liter ($0.62).
