ALWAGHT- According to figures from the European Union's statistics agency, Eurostat, Turkey resumed oil imports from Iran in March of this year, nearly four years after halting shipments to comply with US sanctions on Tehran.
According to Eurostat data, Turkey imported 576 metric tons (mt) of oil from Iran in March and another 485 mt in April. Turkey had last imported oil from Iran in August 2020, ceasing shipments under US pressure.
These figures indicate that more countries are disregarding US sanctions on Iran and resuming oil imports from the country. Eurostat data also showed that Bulgaria and Poland were the two EU members importing oil from Iran this year.
Bulgaria increased its oil imports from Iran by 113% in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period last year, totaling 314 mt. Poland's oil imports from Iran, the first in the past two years, included a 19 mt shipment in March.
Georgia, an EU candidate country, imported 544 metric tons (mt) of oil from Iran in the first quarter of this year, a decrease from the 974 mt imported in the same period last year.
Reports indicate that more European countries are increasingly willing to bypass US sanctions on Iran and import oil from the country, especially as Tehran is selling record volumes of oil to Asian markets.
Iran’s oil exports have surpassed 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in some months this year and in 2023, a significant increase from the record lows of 0.3 million bpd reported in 2019 when the US intensified its sanctions on Tehran.
