Iran imposed petrol rationing and raised pump prices by at least 50 percent Friday, saying the move aims to help the needy with cash handouts and is not due to a budget deficit. The Islamic republic provides some of the most heavily subsidised petrol in the world, with the pump price previously standing at just 10,000 rials (less than nine US cents) a litre. “Increasing petrol prices is to the people’s benefit and also to help the society’s strata under (economic) pressure,” President Hassan Rouhani told a cabinet meeting, quoted by state news agency IRNA.
