9 million liters of petroleum products are smuggled into Iran daily

The spokesman for the headquarters for combating smuggling of goods and currency, in a television program, estimated the amount of smuggling of petroleum products and derivatives in Iran at 9 million liters per day. The representative from Abadan also implicated "mafia behind the scenes" in this volume of smuggling.

Smuggling of gasoline, diesel, and other petroleum products in Iran is not new news, and the difference in the price of gasoline and diesel in neighboring countries is cited as one of the reasons for fuel smuggling to these countries. Iranian officials sometimes comment on this issue, and of course, they provide contradictory statistics each time.

Hamidreza Dehghannia, spokesman for the "Staff for Combating Smuggling of Goods and Currency," told the Islamic Republic Radio and Television on Sunday, January 25, that the total volume of smuggling of petroleum products and derivatives is about 9 million liters per day, of which 3 million liters is fuel.

In the same TV program, Abadan MP Mojtaba Mahfouzi cited the difference in subsidized rates for petroleum products as one of the reasons for the current emergence of “fuel smuggling.” According to him, the subsidy per liter of diesel in Iran is 300 Tomans, while its price in the Persian Gulf countries is 60 times this rate, and “this difference causes greed among profiteers.”

Referring to the high volume of fuel smuggling in Iran, the MP said that the smuggling of this volume of fuel cannot be attributed to small smugglers alone, but rather there are mafias behind the scenes who ultimately reach the visible smugglers. All relevant officials and organizations must be held accountable for pursuing such a volume of smuggling.

The spokesperson for the “Staff to Combat Smuggling of Goods and Currency” noted that the production and export of oil, gas, and other petrochemical and refining products are in the hands of the government: “… So, everything that enters and exits the borders should not be considered smuggling. In addition, if there is an export of oil and fuel, it is definitely done by the Ministry of Oil.”

Bijan Zanganeh, Iran's former oil minister, had previously said about this: "God knows how much smuggling is. The figures that are being put forward are not correct. The smuggling of gasoline and diesel in Iran cannot exceed five million liters per day."

Many experts believe that the bulk of fuel smuggling in Iran is organized and carried out by government agencies with the intention of circumventing sanctions imposed on Iran.

Source: DW