TheEconomistNovember 23rd 2019 431A
fter a bigrise in the state-controlled
price of fuel on November 15th, anger
erupted across Iran. Protesters in more
than 100 cities blocked traffic, torched
banks and burned down petrol stations.
They targeted anything that smacked of the
state, even mosques and ambulances. It
was the most dramatic expression of hos-
tility to the ruling ayatollahs since a disput-
ed election in 2009 sparked a “green revo-
lution” that shook the regime for a year.
The most violent unrest occurred in Khuz-
estan, an oil-rich province on the Persian
Gulf, and in a belt of commuter suburbs
and small towns ringing Tehran, the capi-
tal. Amnesty International, a human-
rights watchdog in London, said over 100
protesters nationwide had been killed.
Complaints about petrol prices have
turned into denunciations of the regime.
Protesters burned portraits of the supreme
leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and shout-
ed “Mullahs get lost!” Two years ago work-
ing-class Iranians demonstrated angrily
when the government raised the price of
eggs. This time middle-class car-owners
also joined the protests. The gulf between
the ruling clergy and Iran’s 83m people ap-
pears to be widening.
The government knew its decision to
raise the fuel price would bring trouble. It
had repeatedly suggested it would do so,
only to back down. This time the govern-
ment waited until midnight on November
15th, just as the Iranian weekend began. It
then announced a 50% increase in the
price of the first 60 litres of petrol that may
be bought every month (enough for a car’s
tank of fuel) and a threefold increase for
any more purchases. As the first snow of
the year fell, the government hoped that
people would stay indoors. No such luck.
So far, the regime shows no sign of back-
ing down. In some places security forces
opened fire to protect public buildings. Thegovernment turned off the internet and
jammed satellite television. Videos shared
online showed gunmen shooting into
crowds of protesters. Citizens near the
sites of protests received anonymous mes-
sages saying: “We know you are here.”
The various branches of Iran’s govern-
ment, often at odds, have closed ranks be-
hind a newly formed Supreme Council of
Economic Co-ordination, which signed the
decision to raise prices. Mr Khamenei pub-
licly backed the president, Hassan Rou-
hani, whom he has often criticised. The su-
preme leader denounced the protesters as
“thugs” and blamed “the centres of villainy
around the world that oppose us” for stir-
ring up the unrest.
It is unclear why the clerics took this
gamble. Petrol arouses passions in Iran like
no other commodity. Ever since its British-
run oilfields were nationalised in 1951, Ira-
nians have considered ridiculously cheap
fuel a birthright. Many believe that Ayatol-
lah Ruhollah Khomenei, the Islamic Re-
public’s founder, promised the people free
energy in 1979. Iran has some of the world’s
most heavily subsidised petrol. The refined
stuff costs less than crude—and less even
than bottled water. Cheap fuel prompts
many Iranians to commute to cities from
distant satellite towns with low rents, or
even to drive in from the provinces each
day. Others make a living by smuggling pet-
rol abroad. Air pollution in Tehran is, un-
surprisingly, terrible.
Recent economic data may have given
the government a false sense of confi-Protests in Iran
Putting out fire with gasoline
Rises in the price of petrol are fuelling unrest in Iran
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