Abbas Goudarzi, speaking Tuesday, at a media briefing evaluating the government’s performance in the first year of implementing the Seventh Development Plan, was asked whether the plan requires the government to increase energy prices, particularly gasoline. He said parliament has not mandated the government to raise gasoline prices and has instead emphasized optimization. However, he added, parliament has given the government room to take action, and the plan includes provisions for the government to use such capacity.

Goudarzi said the government has issued directives concerning energy carriers but has no intention of changing prices. Gasoline is currently sold at two rates — 1,500 and 3,000 tomans — he noted, stressing that more careful and effective management is needed in this area.

The presidium spokesman said the priority is optimization, pointing out that gasoline smuggling is consuming national capital. “We have excessive waste and extravagance, and we must eliminate them through sound planning and better optimization,” he said.

Goudarzi added that meaningful steps toward improving consumption patterns are essential to reducing imbalances. “If people realize that saving gasoline affects their household budget, they will certainly cooperate,” he said.