Iran

Iran just raised its subsidized prices on gasoline and is introducing gas rationing. It may initially strike one as an odd move for a petroleum rich country like Iran. But, as VOA Correspondent Gary Thomas reports, just because a country has a lot of oil does not mean it also has a lot of gasoline.

Karim Sadjadpour, an Iranian-American who worked for several years in Iran with the International Crisis Group, says he increasingly believes elements within Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have an economic motivation in keeping Iran relatively isolated in the world, and in encouraging the latest domestic crackdowns. “Whenever there is the prospect of a U.S.-Iran dialogue or improved Iranian relations with the West, hardliners do their very best to torpedo such efforts,” he says.