TEHRAN - A report by the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat) suggests that Turkiye has imported oil from Iran for the first time in four years.

The report also shows that two official members of the European Union also imported Iranian oil in 2024 despite the U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Bulgaria, an EU member imported 314 metric tons of oil or oil products from Iran in the first three months of 2024, marking a 113 percent increase compared to 147 metric tons of imports in last year’s corresponding period, according to the report.

Poland, another EU member, received a 19-ton cargo of Iranian oil or oil product in March 2024.

Although the oil imports by the EU members are not significant, they indicate that the sanctions on Iran have imposed pressure on the energy sector of the European Union so that they are ignoring the sanctions.

Ever since the late Iranian President Ebrahiam Raisi took power in August 2021, the country’s oil exports have been on an upward trajectory.

The rise in Iran’s oil exports has taken place despite tough U.S. sanctions which aimed to choke off Iran’s oil industry as a main source of revenue for the Islamic Republic.

Financial Times cited figures by data company Vortexa last month noting that Iran was exporting more oil than at any time for the past six years, giving its economy a $35bn-a-year boost.

The report said that Tehran sold an average of 1.56mn barrels a day during the first three months of 2024, almost all of it to China and its highest level since the third quarter of 2018.

“The Iranians have mastered the art of sanctions circumvention,” said Fernando Ferreira, head of a geopolitical risk service at the Rapidan Energy Group in the U.S.

Iran’s oil minister Javad Oji said in March that oil exports had “generated more than $35bn” in the preceding year. On another occasion, he said that while Iran’s enemies wanted to stop its exports, “today, we can export oil anywhere we want, and with minimal discounts”.

EF/