Abbas Kazami, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), said Saturday that the country's gasoline reserves are in good condition and have increased since last year. 

The official expressed hope that by inauguration of gasoline storage projects in the central province of Isfahan and the southern city of Bandar Abbas, Iran will become needless of gasoline imports by the end of the current calendar year. 

He added that currently imported gasoline has a better quality than that produced in petrochemical plants in Iran; however, the quality of the gasoline produced in Iranian plants is not too low to be dangerous for conventional use in Iranian cities. 

The government in Tehran has announced fuel price hikes as much as 75 percent as part of the second phase of the subsidy regulation scheme.

According to the plan which took effect on Friday, the price of semi-subsidized gasoline increased from 4,000 rials per liter to 7,000 rials.

Normal-priced gasoline rose from 7,000 rials to 10,000 rials per liter.

Semi-subsidized diesel prices increased from 1,500 rials to 2,500 rials. Normal diesel prices jumped from 3,500 to 5,000 rials.

Car fuel in Iran is among the cheapest in the world. The latest slashes in fuel and energy subsidies are meant to allocate government money for other sectors in production and infrastructure.