IRAN TO CONTINUE GASOLINE SUBSIDIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 004992 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 8/2/2016 TAGS: IR PREL PGOV ZP EPET ETRD ZR SUBJECT: IRAN TO CONTINUE GASOLINE SUBSIDIES REF: A) DUBAI 501, B) DUBAI 399 DUBAI 00004992 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Jillian L Burns, Acting Consul General, Dubai, UAE. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) 1.(C) Summary: Public statements by the Iranian oil minister and Majles Economic Commission (MEC) head this past week suggest Iran will appropriate money to continue gasoline imports and subsidies for the second half of the year. The Ahmadinejad administration and Majles were at odds after the oil minister announced June 23 that Iran would ration gasoline while holding prices constant beginning September 23 (when funds for imports are scheduled to run out). Majles deputies voiced their opposition to rationing almost immediately, offering two alternatives. Many favor a two-tier pricing mechanism based either upon the amount of gas bought or personal means. Alternatively, a faction led by the MEC head believes neither rationing nor two-tier pricing are viable until the government institutes longer-term solutions such as enlarging the public transportation fleet and converting gasoline engines to natural gas. For now, this faction has won the policy debate, and a professor from Tehran says gasoline imports will continue to avoid risk of agitating the public. End Summary. Gasoline Imports to Continue -------------- 2.(U) Official statements this past week suggest Iran will continue gasoline imports during the second half of the Iranian year (Sept. 23, 2006 - March 22, 2007). On July 24, Majles Economic Commission (MEC) head Kamal Daneshyar said the government should submit a four billion dollar bill to the Majles to continue imports, taking money from the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund. Reuters reported July 30 that Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hameneh agreed importing gasoline "for the next few months" was necessary, although a final decision would not occur until the Majles returns from summer recess in two weeks. The same day, Mehr News Agency, without attribution, said the Energy Department of the Management and Planning Organization had begun to draft a three billion dollar law for the imports, drawing from the Oil Stabilization Fund. Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh said given current prices, Iran would need around 3.5 billion dollars for the rest of the year, part of which has already been approved (he did not say how much). (Comment: It is unclear how the discrepancies over the amount of funds and which account to draw them out of will be settled. End Comment.) 3.(U) Continuing gasoline imports reverses two of Vaziri-Hameneh's previous statements. The Majles budgeted four billion dollars for imports this Iranian year (March 23, 2006-March 22, 2007),but in April Vaziri-Hameneh announced the government cut that figure to 2.5 billion, meaning subsidies would run out halfway through the year on September 22. Vaziri-Hameneh then said June 23 the government would start rationing gasoline on September 23 to make up for lost gasoline supply (reftel B). (Note: On July 31, National Iranian Oil Company Director for International Affairs Hojjatollah Ghanimi-Fard said money for imports would run out a month earlier. All other official statements echoed the September 23 date. End Note). 4.(U) Vaziri-Hameneh's calls for gasoline rationing sparked opposition from the Majles. Until he agreed to continue imports, the administration and MPs dueled in the press and in closed meetings over appropriate gasoline policy. During that debate three factions emerged, each with their own solutions to what daily Donya-ye Eqtesad (World Economy) called "presently~one of the most serious problems faced by the government," and reformist daily E'temad termed "the most challenging economic debate for the government." Three Solutions: Rationing, Dual-Pricing, or Continuing Subsidies -------------- -------------- 5.(U) According to Vaziri-Hameneh, Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi, and government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham, the administration originally favored rationing gasoline once government subsidies run out (reftel B). The administration opposed raising the price of gasoline from the current 9 cents/liter (34 cents/gallon) to avoid triggering further inflation (already at around 12 percent). The government is also concerned about sparking popular unrest, which has occurred in the past after price hikes on essential goods. As to how rationing would work, subsequent statements by Vaziri-Hameneh DUBAI 00004992 002.2 OF 002 and news reports suggested motorcycles would receive 1 liter/day, personal cars 2.5-5, cab companies 15 liters/day/vehicle, and private taxis 30 liters/day. Buses and trucks might receive more. The government would eventually distribute rations via "smart-cards" (reftels A, B) that deduct from electronic balances at filling stations. Until then, the government would use coupons. 6.(U) In contrast, many MPs favor "two-tier" or "dual" pricing and have suggested two variants. First, prices might differ depending on the quantity of gasoline purchased. Consumers would buy their first three liters at a subsidized price, for example, but afterwards pay market price or on a sliding scale with prices increasing along with the quantity of fuel. Second, prices paid could depend on income or other personal financial variables. 7.(U) Daneshyar leads a faction of MPs who want to continue subsidies. They call for 26 conditions from "Note 13" -- an addendum to this year's Budget Law - to be put in place before the government institutes rationing or two-tier pricing. Note 13 allocated 5 billion dollars to, among other measures, expand the public transportation fleet, phase out dilapidated cars, make engines more efficient, and convert engines to run on natural gas. Daneshyar's faction has apparently won the policy battle thus far. 8.(C) A chemical and facility engineering professor from Tehran told Acting CG and PolEconoff August 2 that Iran must continue gasoline imports or face a crisis because, he implied, the people would not accept rationing. He said the government is building compressed natural gas (CNG) stations -- albeit at a slow pace -- and has converted some cars and buses to CNG. The government began a program several years ago to buy up old cars and provide loans for new ones, but most poor people cannot afford new vehicles. The professor also said some Tehranis send their old, inefficient cars to other cities -- exporting pollution. 9.(C) Comment: The Ahmadinejad administration's backtrack on rationing illustrates two points. First, Iran is unlikely to wean itself off low gasoline prices in the near future. Prices are so far below market value that any effort to remove subsidies would cause enormous fall-out. Iranians feel entitled to cheap gasoline with their vast oil reserves. Furthermore, inflation continues to plague the economy, the Ahmadinejad administration maintains a populist platform, and precedent for unrest after price hikes exists. As MEC member Iraj Nadimi opined July 9, "The present government and Majles do not have the necessary courage for adopting a rationing scheme or a two-tier pricing scheme." 10.(C) Comment continued: Second, although Ahmadinejad retains Iran's bully pulpit, his administration again showed its political inexperience and relative weakness within the government. Deputy Oil Minister Mohammad Reza Ne'matzadeh claimed June 28, "the government is definitely planning to ration gasoline in order to control the increasing consumption." Vaziri-Hameneh's backtrack July 30, however, indicates the administration did not clear its plan with the Majles nor fully consider its economic or popular viability before announcing it -- a beginner's mistake. In addition to potential unrest, rationing gasoline without changing prices would probably produce a black market and even more corruption. The administration and particularly Vaziri-Hameneh lost internal and external credibility in this episode, and it provides another example that Ahmadinejad's administration does not have the final word within the government about Iran's most important issues. BURNS