A scene of a protest on a highway in Tehran after the government raised fuel prices in 2019

Iran faces reform paralysis on fuel and exchange rates, lawmaker says

Thursday, 11/06/2025

An Iranian lawmaker said policymakers lack the resolve to take long-delayed decisions on subsidized petrol, bread and exchange rates, urging the government to settle the issues and adopt a single foreign-exchange rate.

Mohsen Zanganeh, a member of parliament’s Plan and Budget Committee, said “no one has the courage to decide” on key price and currency reforms and that “there is no choice but unification” of exchange rates, adding he was willing to accept responsibility for such a move, local media reported.

He said unresolved policy cases had been passed from one administration to the next and called on President Masoud Pezeshkian to close them to reduce public uncertainty. 

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Zanganeh also criticized reluctance to address fuel pricing, saying prolonged debate without action burdens the economy, and argued the president can consolidate or remove budgets for subordinate agencies without new legislation.

Iran maintains heavily subsidized fuel and multiple exchange-rate windows; previous efforts to unwind them have stoked inflation and unrest.

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