TEHRAN — Iran early Tuesday introduced a higher gasoline price for its heaviest consumers, state media reported, in the latest pinch on household budgets after months of war with the United States. It is the second such hike since December, the Associated Press reported via NBC News on Sept. 7, 2026.

Gas price increases are politically explosive in Iran. A 2019 hike sparked nationwide protests and a crackdown that, according to reporting cited by AP, killed more than 300 people. Cheap fuel has long been treated as a near-birthright; protests over pump prices go back at least to 1964.

Without specifically naming the war, the government’s announcement cited the “current situation” and said the extra money from the increase would be given to households. Under the new system, people buying more than their monthly quota of 110 liters (about 29 gallons) now pay 100,000 rials — about 7 U.S. cents — per liter, twice the rate in place since December.

Iran still posts some of the world’s lowest pump prices, but the move lands on a population already watching purchasing power erode. The currency has been sliding to record lows; on Monday the dollar traded at about 2.22 million rials, AP reported. Annual inflation runs near 67%, according to Iran’s statistics center.

Keramat Veis Karami, CEO of the state oil distribution company, said Monday the new rate would affect about 15% of consumers, the official IRNA news agency reported, as cited by AP. He said August consumption hit a record 145 million liters a day against domestic production capacity of 122 million liters a day, with the gap covered by imports. Raising the top tier can cool demand driven by aging cars, scarce spare parts, and thin public transit — but economists also warn it can feed broader inflation in a war economy already under strain from sanctions, blockade pressure, and state-set fuel prices that keep consumption high.

Tehran pumps, tight security, and street reaction

An hour after the new pricing took effect, two of eight stations visited by AP in Tehran were closed to reset pumps. The other six were open, with about a dozen cars in each line. Uniformed and plainclothes police were visible around the stations.

Asghar Rahimi, 34, told AP the increases will not stop: “The tiny amount cannot help government to manage problems like poverty and unemployment. This was the first step. In coming months, they need to raise it again.”

Ali Salari, 55, said he feared the raise would push up bread, meat, and other prices. “It has been that way ever since government manipulated gas prices,” he said.

Hamid Mirzei, 43, said a grocery run for staples such as beans and lentils can already cost up to 100 million rials — about $73 at the rate AP cited. “Life has become difficult for all of us. Even basic groceries are becoming unaffordable,” he said. “If gasoline prices go up as well, things will only get much worse.”

Independent outlets including Iran International separately reported that government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani announced Sunday the third-tier rate would rise from 5,000 to 10,000 tomans per liter effective Sept. 8, with the first 60 liters and next 50 liters of the monthly quota left unchanged — consistent with AP’s account of a doubled over-quota price.

Sources