Iran's president says gasoline prices will rise as Tehran seeks sanctions relief

WASHINGTON, United States — TEHRAN — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday that the government will raise gasoline prices in coordination with relevant institutions. Speaking on state television, Pezeshkian said the price of third-tier gasoline would increase from 5,000 to 10,000 tomans per liter and would not exceed that level. The president also called on the United States to lift sanctions, release frozen funds, and press Israel to halt its escalation in Lebanon. He said Iran has reached an agreement with Oman on a transit route through the Strait of Hormuz, adding that the corridor will open if Washington fulfills its commitments under a memorandum of understanding. Pezeshkian said Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had been briefed on the arrangement with Oman and stressed the need to build good relations with neighboring countries and ensure joint security. He acknowledged that Iran's exports and imports had contracted by 35 percent due to sanctions and the blockade. On the same day, Khamenei said the country would rely on domestic production and frugal spending to counter US sanctions. The US Treasury Department announced on August 24 that it had targeted networks involved in oil smuggling and sanctions evasion as part of an "economic exile" operation against Iran.