Iran suffering from chronic fuel shortages and rolling blackouts (yes, really)

Iran is currently imposing a policy of planned, rolling electricity blackouts throughout the country to cope with shortages of fuel needed to run power plants, causing controversy and public protest, according to Iran International.

Some 80% of Iran's electricity comes from fossil fuels, and years of reported neglect and western sanctions have reportedly caused production to drop, despite Iranian oil sales to China reaching new highs.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that "Since our [fuel] reserves are low and we may face problems in the winter, we have to adjust the reserves of power plants now to avoid future problems. If we don't think about this now, we might face a significant risk in the winter."

Iran has also faced increasing social protests from nurses, pensioners, and workers from other sectors over low pay and pensions and poor working conditions. The Iranian government also faces a serious deficit and its currency dropped markedly against the dollar with Trump's re-election.

Despite this, Iran continues to fund terrorist proxies throughout the region and has even recently pledged to rebuild all areas in Lebanon hit by the IDF - including the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, the Baalbek region, and the border region, all of which have been devastated by air strikes and ground operations.