According to an AFP report today, angry Iranian youths attacked a petrol station in Tehran, burning a car and pumps after the government announced it was going to begin rationing fuel.
The youths, who attacked the station in the Pounak area of northwest Tehran, also threw stones and shouted angry slogans denouncing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Since the announcement earlier Tuesday of the rationing plan, which allows for only 100 litres of petrol per month for private cars, long queues started appearing at fuel pumps not only in Tehran but also in the countryside.
For more about the vulnerabilities of Iran’s weak energy sector, take a look at Gal Luft’s excellent inFocus article. It puts today’s events in context.
