ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Tehran has resumed export of natural gas to Turkey, three months after the pipeline was damaged in a militant attack, Mohammad Askari the spokesperson for the Iran National Gas company told IRNA on Wednesday. Iranian officials including the oil minister had criticized Turkey for delays in repairing the pipeline, depriving Tehran of hundreds of millions of dollars in desperately needed hard currency. “With the completion of repairing the gas pipeline for export in Turkish soil, the exports have resumed,” Askari said. “The export of Iranian gas to Turkey is continuing like before.” Iran foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Turkey last month and discussed an array of issues including terrorism. "I deemed it necessary to have a trip to Turkey to discuss economic relations, energy cooperation, and regional issues," Zarif said upon arrival in Turkey, according to the Tehran Times. The natural gas pipeline was damaged in an explosion claimed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on March 31, causing a massive dent in Iranian exports to Turkey. Data from the Turkish statistics center shows that in the first five months of this year, Iran exported 356 million dollars to Turkey, a tenfold drop compared to the same period last year. Iran exported 3.5 billion worth of goods and energy to Turkey in the first five months of 2019. The flow of natural gas to Turkey via the pipeline has been interrupted at least 10 times since it became operational in 2001. Turkey has remained an important trading partner for Tehran at a time when US economic sanctions have starved the Iranian government of necessary foreign currency In September, Iran made $320 million from natural gas exports to Turkey and Iraq. Iran exports around 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey annually and is considered the third most important source of natural gas after Russia and Azerbaijan. Iran and Turkey signed a contract in 1996 at a time when demand for natural gas was growing in Turkey.
