Tajikistan is negotiating with Iran over petroleum-product supplies, including aviation fuel, amid a domestic fuel shortage and export restrictions imposed by Russia, its traditional supplier.
On 15 August 2026, a Tajik delegation including Energy Minister Daler Juma and Transport Minister Azim Ibrohim held talks in Tehran. The two sides discussed supplies of diesel and aviation fuel to Tajikistan, as well as crude oil for the country's refineries, and the possibility of preferential pricing. According to Iranian agencies IRNA and Fars, Tehran and Dushanbe agreed to prepare a long-term agreement on petroleum-product exports and Iranian crude supply for Tajik refineries, and a working group has been established for this purpose.
Tajikistan's transport minister, Azim Ibrohim, noted that around 800,000 tonnes of fuel currently move between the two countries annually, a volume both sides intend to raise significantly following the talks, while logistics and transportation routes are still being worked out. Tajikistan operates two refineries with a combined design capacity of about 500,000 tonnes per year.
Over the past two months the country has faced a fuel shortage, especially diesel. Supply has traditionally come mostly from Russia, but amid strains in its own market Russia has restricted petroleum-product exports. It is the same pattern seen earlier in Uzbekistan, which established alternative jet-fuel import channels via Georgia and Iraq amid rising demand. The region is rewiring its fuel logistics to reduce dependence on a single supplier.
It is worth noting that this is a negotiation and an intention to prepare a long-term agreement, not a signed contract with fixed volumes. For the aviation sector, the significance lies in jet-fuel availability and pricing risk, which are becoming planning factors for airlines flying to and through Tajikistan.