Iranians Riot Over Gas Rationing

The Iranian government has decided that it can no longer subsidize gasoline in Iran, where the price is $0.40 per gallon, and therefore decided to limit the amount of gas that can be purchased. The mullahs decided to issue the rationing order with no warning. The rationing led to riots, which the Iranian government predictably blamed on the US.

Iran's gas rationing could certainly lead to trouble for the mullahs, but they've managed to stay in power because they've always found a way to do so. Way #1: Blame the US or Israel. #2: Blame the US or Israel. #3 Blame Iraq (when all else fails, see #1 or #2). Rinse and repeat. As we're already seeing, the tried-and-true methods are already in play.

The situation bears further watching, and it should be noted that the Iranians actually have to import finished gasoline because they simply cannot refine the oil they pump out of the ground themselves. They lack the refining capacity to do so and lack the technological means to build new refineries.

Gateway Pundit and Hot Air have more.

UPDATE:
Is the Ahmadinejad crowd doing more to destroy the Iranian economy than sanctions could ever hope to accomplish? That's the thinking in this analysis.