70% of gas stations platforms maybe shut down in Iran; Official

In an exclusive interview with ILNA news agency, the head of Iran's Gas Station Owners Association Asadollah Gholizadeh said that since the beginning of March, we have been experiencing a sharp sales decline and day by day our revenue approaches zero.

Many gas stations in Iran are currently being operated by private owners. There are 3,600 gas and diesel stations as well as 2,400 CNG stations in Iran.

The Iranian Official added “If consultations with the government fail this week, we have no option but to close some of the petrol stations.”

Qolizadeh told “Sale of Super gasoline [high octane] has reached zero and sale of diesel has decreased by up to 70 percent.”

He confirmed that our conditions are getting worse with the implementation of the “Social Separation Plan” and we cannot manage our fuel stations.

“At present, the cost of the gas stations has increased about 30% due to providing cleaning products to fight COVID-19,” Gholizadeh said.

Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour denied reports that the country is considering closing gas stations amid rumors that gas pump handles were spreading the virus.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday announced new measures by the government to fight the outbreak of coronavirus in Iran and hoped they would cut the coronavirus transmission chain within two weeks.

Elaborating on counter-coronavirus measures taken by his government to reduce the damages of the deadly virus, the president noted that the Armed Forces have prepared some 4,000 beds in case of emergencies.

According to the President, special financial assistance will be provided to those businesses which have suffered losses due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The deadly coronavirus radiating from Wuhan, China, in December 2019 has affected thousands of people across the world, while over 9,000 have been killed.

About 32,332 people in Iran are infected with the coronavirus, while the virus has killed 2,378 Iranians.

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