Iran army chief vows to fight ‘to the last drop of blood’
Iran’s army chief Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami vowed that the armed forces would continue their mission “to the last drop of blood” and until what he called “complete victory,” saying Iran’s military strength was rooted in faith and religious conviction.
“What gives us confidence in victory and capability is faith and belief,” Hatami said, adding that this was demonstrated each year during the Islamic mourning month of Muharram.
He said that “faith-based power” had enabled an Iranian F-5 fighter jet to fly over US positions in Kuwait, carry out its mission and return, despite what he described as advanced US ground-based and aerial defense systems.
Hatami said faith had also thrown the enemy into such confusion that it mistakenly targeted its own aircraft.
He said Iranian fighters had overcome the question of death, adding: “We fight for victory, but we also regard martyrdom as a great blessing.”
Fuel shortages and tighter rationing are pushing drivers across Iran into a growing gasoline black market, with citizens describing long lines at gas stations and sharply inflated prices in messages sent to Iran International.
The accounts describe growing frustration over restricted access to subsidized gasoline and arbitrary limits imposed by operators, leaving many motorists dependent on costly unofficial sales.
“One day there’s quota left on your card, the next day it says your quota is finished,” one citizen said. “They even steal the few drops of gasoline they give people.”
Iran uses a subsidized fuel quota system controlled through electronic fuel cards. Every private vehicle receives a monthly gasoline allocation at discounted prices, while extra consumption is charged at higher rates.
Under Iran’s latest pricing system introduced in late 2025, the first 60 liters of gasoline each month cost 15,000 rials per liter (about $0.008), the next 100 liters cost 30,000 rials ($0.017), and any amount above 160 liters costs 50,000 rials ($0.028).
Despite heavy fuel subsidies, Iran’s minimum monthly wage is now worth less than $90 because of inflation and the sharp decline of the rial.
Another driver said he could not use his personal fuel card on Wednesday because his monthly allocation had already run out. The station operator, he said, agreed to provide a fuel card only if payment was handed directly to him, and even then limited sales to 15 liters at 70,000 rials ($0.038) per liter.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said in late April that the country faced “some shortages” in sectors including energy and fuel.
On May 9, Esmail Saghab Esfahani, vice president and head of Iran’s Strategic Energy Policy and Management Organization, said damage during the war had affected parts of the country’s gas and fuel infrastructure and disrupted some gasoline production capacity.
He said Iran had “no choice but to conserve” fuel consumption for at least the next 18 to 24 months.
But Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on April 29 there were no concerns over fuel supply or distribution.
File Photo: A worker adjusts fuel pumps at a gas station in Iran
Black market prices rise
A resident of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran said drivers often wait more than an hour at gas stations, even with personal fuel cards, while gasoline is “widely available” on the black market at 150,000 rials, about $0.08, per liter.
In Zahedan, in southeastern Iran, one resident said gasoline shortages and tighter controls had accelerated illegal fuel sales.
“Everything has been left without oversight,” the resident said. “Sometimes 20 liters of gasoline is sold on the street for 10 million rials ($5.5).”
One driver from Isfahan said operators demanded between 1 million rials ($0.55) and 4 million rials ($2.22) to provide access to only 15 liters.
Citizens also described growing congestion at gas stations nationwide, with drivers saying some stations on major routes had limited purchases to 15 liters.
A resident of Sistan and Baluchestan said 70 liters of gasoline now costs around 50 million rials, about $28, while many villagers must drive hundreds of kilometers to reach hospitals or provincial centers.
For many Iranians, the shortages have become less a matter of conservation than another daily pressure in an increasingly strained economy.
A Reuters factbox listed non-Iranian tankers that have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, despite US and Iranian blockade measures.
The strait typically handles about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Ship-tracking data from LSEG and Kpler showed cargoes moving to Japan, China, India, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, including several very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, which can carry about 2 million barrels of oil each.
The listed shipments included 2 million barrels of Saudi crude bound for Japan, 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude bound for China, and at least 6 million barrels of UAE crude exported in April.
Iranians have described worsening economic conditions in messages sent to Iran International, with several pointing to sharp rises in medicine prices and shortages of basic drugs.
One person said they had managed to connect to the internet for the first time since about two months ago and found that Liskantin syrup, used for epilepsy and seizures, had risen from 9 million rials, about $5, last year to 42 million rials, about $23, and was still difficult to find.
Another message said the price of a sheet of B6 and B12 vitamins had reached 13 million rials, about $7, putting it beyond the reach of many patients.
A pharmacy worker in Shahr-e Qods said one father who came to buy medicine for his child did not have enough money and tried to use a government electronic voucher, but could not. “He was looking for a way to sell it so he could buy the medicine,” the worker said.
Israel’s Channel 11 reported, citing American and Israeli sources, that Israel has sent a “clear message” to Washington that it wants the military campaign against the Islamic Republic to resume.
The report said recent consultations included the option of limited, targeted US strikes on fuel and energy facilities in Iran.
It said the aim would be to increase pressure on Tehran and force the Islamic Republic back to negotiations and into retreat on its nuclear program.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called for reform of the UN Security Council at a BRICS meeting in New Delhi, saying the issue was “not a choice, but a necessity for the survival of the United Nations,” IRGC-affiliated Tasnim reported.
Araghchi said Tehran wanted a council that “truly represents all continents and regions of the world,” adding that BRICS should use its capacity to rebuild global governance and restore credibility to multilateralism.
“What we see today in some international institutions is not multilateralism, but an effort to preserve unilateralism under the cover of international law,” he said.
He said the instrumental use of law, unilateral sanctions and disregard for national sovereignty pointed to a deep crisis in global governance.
A view from the BRICS meeting in New Delhi on May 15, 2026
