The CEO of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC), speaking Monday during the launch of the petroleum products request system (SADAF) that aims at preventing fuel smuggling in the country, confirmed that there has been no smuggling of petroleum products on the Iranian border.
“Fortunately, the [SADAF] system has been launched successfully and now we can say with confidence that there is no smuggling in many borders of the country,” the Iranian oil ministry's news outlet Shana quoted Alireza Sadeghabadi as saying on Tuesday.
He said the majority of demand from adjacent markets in Afghanistan, Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), and Armenia is met through legal channels, proving no smuggling is taking place.
Smuggling of fuel and other commodities has been ongoing for decades across the only border Pakistan shares with Iran in the Balochistan province. However, since US oil sanctions on Iran in 2013, smuggling has escalated and become an entrenched element of the country's struggling economy.
The 900-kilometer long border is awash with Iranian oil and has become a major source of revenue for many people in the area.
In early January, Pakistan sought to take steps to combat oil smuggling and the government declared a crackdown on what it said were the 2,000 illicit retail establishments selling smuggled oil.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr