Aref: Top Income Decile Gets 23 Times More Gasoline Subsidy Than Bottom Decile; Government Denies 80,000 Toman Price Rumor (Sunday, August 23, 2026)

Mohammad Reza Aref, Iran's First Vice President, said Sunday, August 23, 2026 that the country's top income decile receives 23 times more benefit from the gasoline subsidy than the bottom decile, and that subsidized gasoline costs the country several billion dollars a year. Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani denied a rumored 80,000 toman gasoline price circulating on social media, saying no new figure or pricing model has been approved yet.