Tehran (AFP)

Limited-scale demonstrations took place on Friday night in several Iranian cities after the government's surprise announcement of a drastic increase in gas prices in the midst of an economic crisis, according to Iranian media reports.

The reform was presented as a measure whose profits will be redistributed to households in difficulty, in an oil country whose economy - stifled by US sanctions - is expected to shrink by 9% in 2019.

But it immediately sparked divisions, particularly on social networks and within the political class that criticized the timing of the government, a few months of parliamentary elections, scheduled for February.

The demonstrations were "significant" in the city of Sirjan (center), where "people attacked a gas depot and tried to set it on fire" before the police intervened to prevent them, according to the official Irna agency.

Others took place in Mashhad (north), Ahvaz, Shiraz and Bandar Abbas in the south, Birjand in the east and Gachsaran, Abadan, Khoramshahr and Mahshahr in the south-west.

Protesters blocked roads but rallies were limited in size and dispersed around midnight, Irna added.

President Hassan Rohani had already tried in December 2018 to increase gas prices but the measure was blocked in Parliament, while the country was shaken for several days by unprecedented protests provoked by the implementation of anti-corruption measures. 'austerity.

- "Not a treasure rial" -

But Friday, the Iranian government has announced an increase of at least 50% of the price of gasoline, which was previously set at 10,000 rials, or less than eight cents.

For drivers holding a refueling card, the price will now be 15,000 rials (eleven cents) for a maximum of 60 liters per month and each additional liter will cost 30,000 rials (22 cents).

These cards were introduced in 2007 when the government had already tried to reform the subsidy system and fight against smuggling. They had been gradually abandoned before being reintroduced in November 2018.

Iran is one of the countries where gasoline is the most subsidized. Encouraged by low prices, fuel consumption is high, with 90 million liters consumed per day for 80 million people.

The benefits of rising gas prices must be redistributed to Iranians who face economic difficulties, nearly 75% of the population, according to Hassan Rohani.

The measure is expected to yield 300,000 billion rials (about 2.3 billion euros) a year, according to Planning and Budget Officer Mohammad Bagher Nobakht.

Amounts paid to some 60 million Iranians will go from 550,000 rials (about 4.2 euros at the free market rate) for couples to 2 million rials (15.8 euros) for households of five or more people. The first installments will take place in 10 days, according to Nobakht.

"No rial will go to the Treasury," Rohani said.

- "Unpopular" -

According to Nobakht, the measure was decided by the High Council for Economic Coordination, composed of the President, the President of Parliament and the head of justice.

Inflation is more than 40% in Iran and, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economy is to shrink by 9% this year, before posting 0% growth in 2020.

Low fuel prices also lead to heavy smuggling, estimated by Irna at between 10 and 20 million liters per day, mainly in neighboring Pakistan, where fuels are more expensive.

Smuggling has also been boosted by the fall of the rial on the foreign exchange market, linked in part to the economic sanctions reinstated from 2018 by the United States, after their withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear agreement of 2015.

Rohani said on Friday he resisted calls for the government to raise gas prices to other countries in the region to fight smuggling, saying it would increase inflation.

© 2019 AFP