Published on
27/08/2026 - 11:59 GMT+2
Long queues stretched for kilometres outside petrol stations in Tehran and other Iranian cities in the early hours of Thursday as a daily fuel shortfall collided with a surge in panic buying, and government officials simultaneously confirmed that petrol prices will rise, without specifying when or by how much.
Videos posted on social media showed lines of vehicles forming in the capital and nearby city of Karaj around midnight on Wednesday and lasting into the early hours, with several stations closing before demand could be met.
Officials attributed the surge to rumours of shortages, but the scale of the disruption and the announcement of a price increase suggested a growing structural problem.
