"I have spent at least two hours at the bank because the computer system was not functioning because of the power cut," said Massoud, a 65-year-old retired man who went to cash his pension cheque.

Power blackouts have become daily fare for Iranians in the capital Tehran and other cities since the start of the summer, with electricity cut between two to four hours each day.

"Every day between one in the afternoon and until three, we have no electricity," says Farhad Mahmoudzadeh, a dentist who is forced to stop work during these hours.

"I will buy a power generator as in time of war," he said referring to the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq conflict when Iran faced crippling electricity cuts.

The latest cuts are affecting the entire country and more disturbing is that "they should increase further in the coming months," according to Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Ahmadian.

The cuts are in large part due to reduced production in the hydraulic dams because of a severe drought affecting the entire region.

But according to press reports, Iran's ability to produce electricity has been crippled because of international sanctions clamped on the country over its controversial nuclear programme.

These sanctions have prevented the government from purchasing abroad spare parts needed to run power stations.

Power cuts and difficulties faced by the government to supply petrol stations, as well as a rationing system requiring motorists to use a smart card to buy petrol, have created a real nightmare for many Iranians.

Iran, OPEC's number two oil producer, decided to ration petrol in June 2007 to decrease the colossal state subsidies paid for keeping pump prices down to less than the cost of a comparable amount of mineral water.

The country lacks the refineries necessary to produce sufficient petrol for its 71 million population and is forced to spend billions of dollars each year importing petrol from abroad.

Problems can escalate as the United States and some European countries mull the idea of imposing new sanctions on Iran's energy sector, including petrol imports.

In the event of new international sanctions, Iran will face a real problem of supply which will make the lives of Iranians more difficult.

The government has said already that if foreign supplies are cut the people will have to rely only on domestic production and also warned that Iranian will suffer water cuts if consumption is not reduced by 15 percent.

Various sectors of Iran's economy are also being affected by the power cuts.

"These cuts are unprecedented for the past 20 years and are totally disrupting the economy," Sarmayeh economic newspaper said.

Government agencies, banks, courts and the industrial sector are all affected.

One of the biggest nightmare is the hunt for petrol.

"Yesterday, I went to four petrol stations and they had no gasoline. Finally, I gave up," said Hamid, an Iranian who makes ends meet by using his private car as a taxi.

"I have spent an hour and a half in the queue to refuel," came the angry comment from Mahin, a mother.

For several weeks, queues hundreds of metres (yards) long have formed outside petrol stations in Tehran and in major cities across Iran.

Some motorists drive to petrol stations at midnight to avoid the queues but even so they have to wait 20 or 30 minutes before they can reach the pump.

Iran consumes 70 million litres (15.4 million gallons) of petrol daily and in order to meet this demand has to import over 25 million litres.

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