Iran Adjusts to Gas Rations; Will Economy Survive?

All Things Considered, by Mike Shuster

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July 19, 2007 · After three weeks of gasoline rationing, the skies above Tehran are noticeably clearer, there is far less traffic on the city's streets, and the government is saving millions of dollars each day in subsidies for cheap gasoline. But drivers are frustrated, and many can't figure out how to navigate their lives on 24 gallons of gasoline a month. Although Iran is one of the largest exporters of crude oil in the world, it must import a large portion of its gasoline, which the government sells to the public at a very low price. It's not that there are shortages of gasoline in Iran; it's just that the government decided it could not sustain the enormous subsidies it was paying to keep gasoline prices so low. But rationing is creating new problems. And economists fear that Iran's economy could suffer.