Two European states imported Iranian oil in 2023: Eurostat
European statistics, in its latest data, reported that Iran exported oil to two European countries including Bulgaria and Georgia in 2023 despite sanctions.
Despite the EU’s oil sanctions on Iran, Bulgaria, as an official member of the EU, imported oil from the country. In 2022, Bulgaria had only imported 168 tons of oil or oil products from Iran, but in 2023, the import of oil or oil products from Iran increased sixfold to 1,058 tons, as cited by IRNA, quoting European statistics releasing the data.
Although the amount of Bulgaria’s oil imports from Iran in 2023 is not a significant figure, it indicates the willingness of European countries to ignore the sanctions against Iran.
Eurostat had previously reported Germany’s import of 70,000 tons of Iranian oil or oil products for the first time since 2018, but when this news became public the German government was forced to take a stance, claiming that this figure was mistakenly included in the import statistics from Iran, and, in fact, Germany had imported this oil shipment from Mexico.
Eurostat’s data also revealed that Georgia, as an observer member of the European Union, imported 4,438 tons of oil or oil products from Iran last year. Georgia’s oil imports from Iran underwent a six percent growth compared to the previous year.
In 2022, Georgia imported a total of 4,161 tons of oil or oil products from Iran.
The United States, under former president Donald Trump, reinstated crippling sanctions on Iran after unilaterally walking out of the 2015 nuclear deal in May 2018, despite Iran’s full compliance with the terms of the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
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