Financial Tribune- Quality control tests conducted on gasoline distributed in 17 major Iranian cities indicate a considerable improvement in the fuel's quality, the director of Iran Standard and Quality Inspection Company said.

"So far, some 50 [random] samples have been scrutinized, which will reach 100 by the end of the current fiscal [March 21]," Nayereh Piroozbakht was also quoted as saying on Monday by IRNA.

According to the official, the results show that critical factors, including benzene and aromatic chemical, are at an acceptable level while the octane number stood lower than the country's approved standard, which is about 90. She did not elaborate further about the number.

"The sulfur present in gasoline also shows a significant improvement," she said, noting that except for one sample, all other tests showed sulfur to be lower than the acceptable level of 50 parts per million. Piroozbakht said 37 samples of imported gasoline have been tested, of which nine failed to pass the acceptable criteria.