Iranian authorities have stepped up pressure on civil society, media and political activists in several cities in an apparent effort to deter any protests over higher fuel prices, according to people familiar with the matter.
Several civil and media activists have been summoned by security and law enforcement bodies after posting critical or analytical content on social media, the sources said.
During the summons, they were warned to refrain from publishing material about fuel and energy price increases so as not to create what officials described as a “tense atmosphere.”
The number of summonses and warning calls has increased in provincial towns, the sources added, with the measures broadened to reach a wider circle of local activists.
Sources also said security personnel have been working extended hours to handle a growing volume of new summonses.
The moves come as the government rolled out a new fuel pricing scheme on earlier in December, introducing a three-tier pricing system for gasoline.
President Masoud Pezeshkian defended the decision on Thursday, saying prices had been adjusted but that the plan imposed “no pressure on anyone.”
Economists have cautioned, however, that higher energy prices are likely to feed directly into transport costs and, in turn, push up prices for other goods and services.
Security agencies appear particularly sensitive to public reaction to fuel prices given the legacy of November 2019, when a sudden gasoline price hike triggered nationwide protests that were met with a sweeping crackdown, leaving many dead and hundreds detained.
