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Iran raises fuel prices by 50 percent, cancels cash support to 34 million
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iran has raised the price of fuel by up to 50% during the next year's budget and will move to cancel the monetary support of more than 34 million people.The price of the gasoline will reach 1500 tomans per liter (about 0.43 US cents), a 50 percent increase, and the diesel will rise to 400 tomans from 300 tomans, the government's website said on Tuesday. The newspaper "Donya-e-Eqtesad" warned of fears of negative effects of high gasoline prices and quoted experts that the rate of inflation in the country will increase by 1% due to high fuel prices. It also warned against cash subsidies to the poor and said cash support would be canceled for 34 million people next year. At the parliament, Wali Dadashi, a front man for the (Article 90) Committee of the Iranian Parliament, said he was strongly opposed to raising energy and fuel prices in the country and considered it a wrong decision taken during bad economic conditions. The rise comes of the fuel prices comes while Parviz Fattah, head of the Khomeini Supply Committee in Iran, recently revealed that 20 million people are under the extreme poverty line, according to global indicators. Iran is witnessing labor protests against wage delays, low wages, rampant unemployment and poverty due to widespread corruption, which is reflected directly on the citizens and their standards of living. Posted by: Fred 2017-12-21 |
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