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Türkiye Doubles Russian Oil Imports, Filling EU Void

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Türkiye's President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Sochi, Russia November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Pavel Golovkin/Pool/File Photo
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Türkiye's President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Sochi, Russia November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Pavel Golovkin/Pool/File Photo
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Türkiye Doubles Russian Oil Imports, Filling EU Void

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Türkiye's President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Sochi, Russia November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Pavel Golovkin/Pool/File Photo
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Türkiye's President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Sochi, Russia November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Pavel Golovkin/Pool/File Photo

Türkiye doubled its imports of Russian oil this year, Refinitiv Eikon data showed on Monday, as the two countries are set for broader cooperation in business and especially energy trade in the face of western sanctions against Moscow.

Trade between Türkiye and Russia has been booming since spring as Turkish companies not banned from dealing with Russian counterparts stepped in to fill the void created by EU businesses leaving Russia after its invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine 'a special military operation.'

Türkiye increased oil imports from Russia, including Urals and Siberian Light grades, beyond 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) so far this year compared to just 98,000 bpd for the same period of 2021, Refinitiv data showed, Reuters reported.

Türkiye did not sanction Russia due to its actions in Ukraine, saying it remains reliant on Russian energy supplies.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met early in August and agreed to boost business cooperation.

Türkiye's main refiners Tupras and Azerbaijan's SOCAR's STAR refinery significantly increased intake of Russian Urals and Siberian Light oil this year, while decreasing purchases of North Sea, Iraqi and West African grades, the data showed.

Over the last few years, STAR refinery increased purchases of Norway's Johan Sverdrup and Iraqi oil grades, which are close in quality to Urals as Russian oil has been growing in price.

This year, Russian oil prices fell to historical lows against the dated Brent benchmark, while North Sea and Iraqi oil grades prices improved.

STAR refinery is expected to purchase about 90,000 bpd of oil from Russia during January to August 2022 compared to 48,000 bpd during the same period of the last year, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Tupras refineries will buy about 111,000 bpd of oil from Russia in January to August this year compared to just 45,000 bpd during the same period last year, according to the data.

"The choice for Türkiye's refiners was obvious as they have no limits on Russian oil buying", a trader in the Mediterranean oil market said, who declined to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the press.

He added that good Urals oil refining margins supported Türkiye's refiners profits.

Türkiye's Energy ministry, Tupras and SOCAR did not immediately respond to Reuters for comments.

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World

German President Calls Iran War a Disastrous Mistake, in Rare Rebuke of Trump

FILE PHOTO: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech at his Bellevue Palace residency in Berlin, Germany, November 9, 2025. Maryam Majd/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech at his Bellevue Palace residency in Berlin, Germany, November 9, 2025. Maryam Majd/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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German President Calls Iran War a Disastrous Mistake, in Rare Rebuke of Trump

FILE PHOTO: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech at his Bellevue Palace residency in Berlin, Germany, November 9, 2025. Maryam Majd/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech at his Bellevue Palace residency in Berlin, Germany, November 9, 2025. Maryam Majd/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

The Iran war is a "disastrous mistake" that breaches international law, Germany's president said on Tuesday in an unusually blunt rebuke of US President Donald Trump's foreign policy, which he said marked a rupture for German ties with its biggest post-war ally.

In a scathing verbal attack, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose largely ceremonial role allows him to speak more freely than politicians, took a far more critical line than Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has skirted questions on the war's legality.

"Our foreign policy does not become more ⁠convincing just because we ⁠do not call a breach of international law a breach of international law," Steinmeier, a former foreign minister from the center-left Social Democratic Party, said in a speech at the foreign ministry.

"We must address this with regard to the war in Iran. For, in my view, this war is contrary to international law," he said, adding he had little doubt that the ⁠justification of the imminent nature of an attack on US targets did not hold water.

Calling the war unnecessary and a "politically disastrous mistake", Reuters quoted Steinmeier as saying that Trump's second term marked a rupture in German foreign relations as profound as Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"Just as I believe there will be no going back in relations with Russia to before February 24, 2022, so too do I believe there will be no going back in transatlantic relations to before January 20, 2025," said Steinmeier.

Germany had to apply lessons it learned in extricating itself from "excessive dependencies" on Russia and apply them to the US, ⁠particularly in ⁠defense and technology, which translate to power, he said.

Germany has stressed the importance of creating alternatives to US-dominated technology as concerns grow over US access.

China returned to being Germany's top trading partner in the first eight months of 2025, overtaking the US as higher tariffs weighed on German exports. Trade between the US and Germany amounted to more than 163 billion euros ($190 billion) over that period.

The recent spat between the Pentagon and Anthropic over safety guardrails surrounding the latter's artificial intelligence could be a wake-up call, or even an opportunity, for Europe, said Steinmeier.

"Europe as a technology hub has talent, markets, opportunities and, importantly, ethical standards. We should build on these," he said.

World

Iran Arrests 466 People Accused of Online Activity Undermining National Security

A resident looks at the damage to a destroyed apartment block in northern Tehran as he stands next to a dust-covered car with the words "Down with the USA" written on its rear window on March 23, 2026. (AFP)
A resident looks at the damage to a destroyed apartment block in northern Tehran as he stands next to a dust-covered car with the words "Down with the USA" written on its rear window on March 23, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran Arrests 466 People Accused of Online Activity Undermining National Security

A resident looks at the damage to a destroyed apartment block in northern Tehran as he stands next to a dust-covered car with the words "Down with the USA" written on its rear window on March 23, 2026. (AFP)
A resident looks at the damage to a destroyed apartment block in northern Tehran as he stands next to a dust-covered car with the words "Down with the USA" written on its rear window on March 23, 2026. (AFP)

Iranian police arrested 466 people accused of online activities aimed at undermining national security, state media reported on Tuesday, in one ‌of the biggest ‌security sweeps ‌since ⁠the start of ⁠the war with Israel and the United States.

Iranian media have reported more ⁠than 1,000 ‌arrests ‌over the course of ‌the month, pertaining ‌to individuals accused of filming sensitive locations, sharing anti-government content online, ‌or "cooperating with the enemy".

A police statement ⁠said ⁠the arrests followed intelligence and technical monitoring in recent days, alleging the individuals were connected to “enemy” networks seeking to create internal instability.

World

Iran Media Says Energy Infrastructure Attacked

A UGC image posted and shared on social media on March 14, 2026, shows smoke plumes rising over the Iranian city of Isfahan after strikes. (Photo by UGC / AFP)
A UGC image posted and shared on social media on March 14, 2026, shows smoke plumes rising over the Iranian city of Isfahan after strikes. (Photo by UGC / AFP)
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Iran Media Says Energy Infrastructure Attacked

A UGC image posted and shared on social media on March 14, 2026, shows smoke plumes rising over the Iranian city of Isfahan after strikes. (Photo by UGC / AFP)
A UGC image posted and shared on social media on March 14, 2026, shows smoke plumes rising over the Iranian city of Isfahan after strikes. (Photo by UGC / AFP)

Iranian media reported on Tuesday that Israeli-US strikes targeted two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after US President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack power infrastructure.

"As part of the ongoing attacks carried out by the Zionist and American enemy, the gas administration building and the gas pressure regulation station on Kaveh Street in Isfahan were targeted," said the Fars news agency.

The facilities in central Iran were "partially damaged", added Fars, which was Iran's only news outlet to report the incident.

It said an attack also targeted the gas pipeline of the Khorramshahr power plant, in the country's southwest.

"A projectile hit the area outside the Khorramshahr gas pipeline processing station," Fars reported, quoting the governor of the city bordering Iraq.

It did not specify the extent of the damage.

Trump told AFP on Monday that "things are going very well" with Iran, shortly after announcing talks with Tehran and a five-day pause on targeting the country’s power plants.

Trump's abrupt shift on Iran came hours before the expiration of a two-day ultimatum under which he threatened to attack Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian media however said on Monday that there were no negotiations underway towards ending the war.