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Treasury's Levey and Burns pointed to an 85% drop in refined petroleum imports in Iran, down to 19,000 barrels a day in October, a loss of $50 billion to $60 billion in energy investments and increased difficulties for Iranian companies to conduct business in dollars and euros.

Given that Iran relies heavily on refined petroleum product imports and the impact of financial sanctions, Tehran was facing a political bind internally, needing to cut the gasoline subsidy, but fearing the political opposition from such an action.