Turkish oil imports from Iran hits 8-month high in April

Turkey has raised its April crude oil imports from Iran to average 140,000 barrels per day (bpd), hitting an eight-month high, shipping data shows.

Turkey has been importing an average of 100,000 bpd between September 2012 and February 2013, and in March increased purchases of Iranian oil to 114,000 bpd, despite US sanctions against Iran’s energy sector, data showed on Friday.

The United States granted sanctions waivers on Iran oil to Turkey on December 7, 2012. South Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, were also granted waivers, known as “exceptions.”

At the beginning of 2012, the US and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.

The illegal US-engineered sanctions were imposed based on the unfounded accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.