Iran will not sell fuel to Turkish trucks upon Turkey's new plan, says Iranian envoy

İpek Yezdani - ipek.yezdani@hurriyet.com.tr

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Iran cannot sell fuel to Turkish trucks, according to a new plan created by Turkish authorities to solve the passage fee and fuel row between Iran and Turkey, Iranian Ambassador to Ankara Ali Reza Bigdeli has said.

“A new way out, similar to the approach of the Turkish authorities, has been created. However, we still don’t think this will be an appropriate solution. According to this formula, we can seal Turkish trucks’ gas tanks as soon as they enter Iran,” Bigdeli told daily Hurriyet.

The crisis between Turkey and Iran regarding truck transit fees recently heated up amid the latest hikes in fees for passage and fuel.

Turkish representatives have been objecting to the $750 transit pass fee that Iran applies to all Turkish trucks, saying it is far too high. Turkey responded to the fee on Oct. 10 by increasing its own transit fee for Iranian trucks to $750. Iran then escalated, doubling its fee to $1,500 a few hours later.

Turkey responded in kind, upping the fee for Iranian trucks to $1,500 as well and saying it had also begun taking 25 euros per 100 kilometers for fuel from Iranian trucks, as Iran does to Turkish trucks.

Turkish transporters have paid more than $1 billion to Iran due to the difference in fuel prices between the two countries, said representatives from the International Transporters Association (UND) on Oct. 17.

Iranian Ambassador Bigdeli, meanwhile, said there have been several talks between the two countries, though no consensus had been reached until recently.  

“As a result of all these talks, our Turkish friends have come up with a solution plan, and a new way out is being created closer to their approach. According to the new proposal from the Turkish side, Turkish trucks won’t be buying any fuel after entering Iran, and consequently there won’t be any need to charge the price difference for the Turkish trucks. We still don’t think this will be an appropriate solution, but we are going to start implementing it in the following days,” he said.

Bigdeli added that according to this plan Iran might seal Turkish trucks’ gas tanks after entering Iran. 

“There might be tough conditions in the winter, Turkish truck drivers might have to wait at the roads and they might feel the need to buy extra fuel while they are in Iran. Along with that, the sealing process could create long queues for the truck drivers,” he said.