Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 1
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran has started sealing fuel tanks of Turkish trucks coming into Iran on the border checkpoints, Islamic Republic's Deputy Roads and Urban Development Minister Davoud Keshavarzian said.
Keshavarzian, who heads Iran's Road Maintenance and Road Transportation Organization said that the sealing started by morning Dec. 1, Iran's Mehr news agency reported.
The decision was made to solve the dispute between the two countries on the transit fees, since fuel prices in Iran are much cheaper than in Turkey.
By the decision Iran has stopped supplying Turkish trucks with its cheap fuel.
Iran and Turkey are at odds over trucks' transit fees. Over the past years, Iran has been charging a $750 transit fee for the trucks entering the country from Turkey, while the Iranian trucks were entering Turkey for free.
Following that Turkey imposed a similar fee on Iranian trucks. But the Islamic Republic increased the fee to $1,500 on October 10.
The Iranian officials said that under an agreement signed with Turkey a few decades ago, the two sides may charge a transit fee only if there is a difference in fuel prices in the two countries.
Although Turkish Transport, Maritime and Communication Minister Lutfi Elvan said Turkey respects all agreements with Iran, adding that Tehran's response should be similar.
The twofold increase in transit fees for Turkish trucks entering Iran is illegal, the minister said.
The price of 1 liter of diesel fuel in Turkey is 2.12 TRY (the rate of $1 is equal to 2.214 TRY). In Iran, 1 liter of diesel fuel costs 2,500 IRR (the rate of $1 is equal to 26,800 IRR).