Iran Petrol Prices Up 75% in Hours

A severe oil price hike was triggered in Iran by President Rouhani's decision to cut petrol subsisides, in a desperate attempt to address long-standing economic issues.

Subsidized fuel (available to each driver in limited quantities) thus rose from USD 0.16 to USD 0.28 per liter, according to Al Jazeera English.

Non-subsidized petrol was also up, as its price was USD 0.39 hours after the hike began, compared to a previous USD 0.28.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani explained that the country had been preparing "for two months to implement these plans in provinces, cities and rural areas," according to Al Jazeera English.

Iran, which ranks among the world's biggest oil exporters, offers low fuel price to its citizens (at a certain point oil became cheaper even than mineral water), but a severe economic crisis makes even a slight increase unfavourable.

High inflation and unemployment have been concern for Iranians since the international community imposed economic sanctions on Tehran over its controversial nuclear program in 2010.

Hassan Rouhani however hopes that measures against the Islamic Republic could be reversed through talks with world powers, which have accepted him as a less controversial figure than his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The money saved by cutting subsidies is to be spend on job creation and infrastructural projects, according to government officials.