Iranian president takes taxi after convoy breaks down due to tainted fuel

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian faced an embarrassing situation during his tour of Tabriz, after his convoy fell victim to fuel adulterated with water in Qazvin Province, which caused all the vehicles to break down at the same time — eventually forcing Pezeshkian to take a taxi.

The incident was reported by “Iran International,” quoting Mostafa Mowlavi, the special inspector to the Iranian President. He stated that the event took place on July 5, when three vehicles carrying the president and his entourage were travelling from Qazvin to Tabriz, the president’s hometown.

Mowlavi explained that the convoy stopped to refuel at a station along the Rasht road and then continued the journey to Tabriz. However, all the vehicles unexpectedly broke down at the same time while en route, later revealing that the fuel used had been adulterated with water.

Mowlavi said: “All three cars broke down before reaching Takestan. After investigating, we discovered that this station sells poor-quality gasoline mixed with water and has a history of such violations.”

According to Mowlavi, Masoud Pezeshkian did not contact the provincial authorities following the incident and did not take any official action. Instead, he took a private taxi and continued on to Tabriz.

Mowlavi added that contact with the government-owned petroleum distribution company confirmed prior violations by the mentioned station. He said: “This station had previously received similar complaints.”

However, the government petroleum distribution company quickly responded to the incident, denying the presence of any adulterated fuel at its stations.

The company asserted that “more than a thousand vehicles” were fueled at the same station that day without receiving similar complaints, stressing that the station had not recorded any violations in over 10 years and that routine quality tests showed the fuel met standards.