Iran declares a no-go zone outside Hormuz and doubles gasoline prices, and Israel removes settlement outposts in the West Bank

Official Iranian media quoted Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary-General of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, as saying today (Sunday) that his country will declare a “no-go zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz in the next few days, according to what was reported by Reuters.

He added that this zone will start from the US naval blockade line and extend to areas in the Gulf, and that any ship that enters this new prohibited zone will be added to the sanctions list.

The Iranian government announced, on Sunday, doubling the price of gasoline sold outside subsidized quotas to 10,000 tomans per liter as of Tuesday dawn, in the latest measure to confront the fuel crisis that worsened during the war and the US naval blockade.

Government spokeswoman Fatima Mohajerani said that the price of gasoline using gas station cards will rise from five thousand to 10 thousand tomans per liter, while the subsidized monthly rations will remain unchanged.

Car owners receive 60 liters per month at a price of 1,500 tomans per liter, followed by a second share of 50 liters at a price of three thousand tomans. Consumers resort to station cards with the higher price when purchasing fuel outside those quotas.

Mohajerani explained that government meetings discussed different prices, before approving 10,000 tomans based on a previous pledge by President Masoud Pezeshkian. She added that the revenues resulting from the increase will be allocated to support the livelihood of residents.

Hours before the announcement, Pezeshkian chaired a government meeting to manage fuel consumption, during which he demanded that all stages of decision-making in this file be accompanied by an “accurate and transparent” media plan.

He announced that he would personally meet with representatives of truck and taxi drivers' unions and online transportation platforms to explain the new policies and discuss their concerns.

The meeting discussed non-price measures, including regulating fuel cards, closing smuggling routes, monitoring small refineries, linking fuel quotas to actual consumption, improving public transportation, and reducing the consumption of old and high-consumption vehicles.

Gasoline shortage

Iran, one of the world's largest oil producers, faces a gasoline shortage that worsened during the war due to damage to the energy sector and the disruption of imports under the weight of the US naval blockade.

During August, Iranian officials estimated the deficit ranged between 14 and 20 million liters per day. Pezeshkian said last month that the blockade had closed roads used to bring goods into the country, and that the government lacked the resources to import gasoline.

The government had begun reducing subsidized fuel during the war, reducing the monthly quota at the second price, which was three thousand tomans, from 100 liters to 70 liters, then to 50 litres, while keeping the basic quota of 60 liters at 1,500 tomans.

On August 18, Parliament Speaker Muhammad Baqir Qalibaf opposed increasing gasoline prices, considering that raising them in wartime conditions is “not a calculated measure,” and calling for reducing consumption in a way that achieves “the greatest amount of justice and the least amount of dissatisfaction” among the population.

Qalibaf warned that Iran's opponents may exploit the living pressures to cause unrest, while the country faces high inflation and a sharp decline in the value of the rial.

Gasoline prices are particularly politically sensitive in Iran. A sudden price increase in November 2019 sparked widespread protests across the country, followed by a bloody security crackdown.

Two informed sources told Reuters today (Sunday) that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the removal of settlement outposts established without a permit in the West Bank, in light of American pressure on Israel to confront settler attacks on the Palestinians.

The two sources added that the decision applies to settlement outposts established by settlers without official approval from the state. These outposts usually consist of ready-made mobile housing units and are inhabited by a limited number of settlers. Israel has demolished such outposts from time to time, while it officially recognized others, which allowed it to obtain government funding.

It is not yet clear when the operation will begin. The United Nations and most governments consider all Israeli settlements illegal under international law, and the West Bank is considered occupied territory under military control. Israel says the territories are disputed, not occupied.

American pressure

The two sources said that Netanyahu issued the order to evacuate the unauthorized settlement outposts in response to pressure from the United States, Israel's closest ally.

Yesterday, the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, denounced the violent settlers, describing them as “terrorists,” and called for strict penalties against them after a meeting with a number of Palestinian Americans in a Palestinian town in the West Bank.

The Israeli website Ynet reported earlier that the instructions target about 100 settlement outposts in the occupied territories.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office, nor the Israeli army, which usually participates in removing settlement outposts in the West Bank, have not yet responded to a request for comment.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, in response to a question during a conference in Jerusalem regarding the Ynet report, that Netanyahu issued “instructions to evacuate places established in Areas A and B,” referring to parts of the West Bank inhabited by most Palestinians.

Under the Oslo Accords, which were transitional agreements concluded in the 1990s between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the West Bank was divided into three areas: A, B, and C.

Smotrich, who is himself a settler and supervised settlement housing projects and granted official recognition to homes built illegally, said that despite his opposition to Netanyahu’s decision, the government has made great progress in expanding settlement in Area C.

Hundreds of hotspots

According to the Israeli organization "Peace Now", which opposes settlement expansion and supports the two-state solution, there are 340 settlement outposts in the West Bank, in addition to 146 settlements officially recognized by the Israeli government.

Last month, Israeli settlers besieged Palestinian homes in a nearby village, including a home owned by a Palestinian-American, before the Israeli army forced them to leave the area. The town's Palestinian residents said they still face harassment and intimidation from Israeli settlers.

The Israeli government has condemned acts of violence committed by settlers, but their perpetrators are rarely arrested, and their prosecution is even less common.

Huckabee said yesterday that it is in Israel's own interest to take action against settlers who commit what he described as "criminal behavior and terrorism."