Iran is facing a gasoline supply crunch. The US blockade on Iranian Gulf ports is restricting imports, while damage to energy facilities from Israeli strikes has yet to be fully repaired. In a bid to prevent widespread shortages, authorities have reduced subsidized quota allowances for drivers and are considering increasing prices in order to limit consumption.
Iranian gasoline consumption has outstripped production since 2022/23, and the shortfall widened to more than 100,000 b/d in 2025/26 according to official figures from the IRNA state news agency. Iran ordinarily fills this gap through imports, but the re-imposition of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Gulf last month has greatly limited its ability to do so. During the short-lived US-Iran MoU, Iran reached out to some Indian counterparts regarding the possibility of crude-for-gasoline swaps, according to market sources at the time, before the reinstatement of US sanctions derailed the prospect of any such trade. (CONTINUED - 1011 WORDS)
