Mohammad-Sadeq Azimifar, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Co., said diesel imports have been at zero for several months. He attributed the change to higher production, increased refinery feedstock and the startup of new quality-improvement units.

Daily diesel output has risen by 3 million liters since the beginning of the year, while anti-smuggling measures have reduced daily consumption by about 5 million liters, Azimifar said. Together, those measures eliminated the need for imports.

He said the nation’s diesel reserves – including storage tanks, pipelines and power plants – have grown by nearly 1.5 billion liters compared with the same period last year. Power plant reserves alone have climbed 60%, helping to prevent potential blackouts in the winter.

Azimifar also noted a 40% increase in fuel allocations for industrial diesel generators this summer, rising from 250 million liters last year to 350 million liters. For the first time, diesel was also offered on the domestic energy exchange to meet industrial demand.

He emphasized that energy producers and consumers form an interconnected network and said optimizing energy use is vital to balance supply and demand. “All parts of the economy must work together to improve efficiency so the entire country can benefit from lower consumption and energy savings,” Azimifar said.