Tajikistan has asked Iran to supply it with oil and petroleum products after the fuel crisis in Russia, the country's largest fuel supplier, choked off deliveries, the Transport Ministry of Tajikistan said this week.

At a meeting with senior Iranian government officials in Tehran earlier this week, Tajikistan signed more than a dozen cooperation agreements with the Islamic Republic, the ministry said in a press release.

Tajikistan has requested imports of 2.55 million tons of oil and fuels from Iran, comprising 2 million tons of crude oil, 150,000 tons of gasoline, 300,000 tons of diesel, and 100,000 tons of jet fuel, the transport ministry said.

"The global geopolitical situation has cut fuel imports to the Republic of Tajikistan. More than 80% of Tajikistan's fuel previously came from Russia," Transport Minister Azim Ibrohim said in a statement. The country now plans to import fuels from countries other than Russia, including Iran, the official added.

The request highlights how disruptions in Russian fuel output are reaching neighboring markets that rely on Moscow for supply and have limited room to absorb shortages. For Tajikistan, the shift also underscores the practical challenge of securing alternative barrels, since the country is landlocked and dependent on cross-border trade routes and bilateral supply arrangements.

Tajikistan's overture to Tehran came just hours before U.S. President Donald Trump late on Wednesday threatened "tremendous" economic consequences for countries extending a lifeline to Iran.

Tajikistan and other Central Asian nations that have depended on Russian fuel supplies have been reeling from the crisis in Russia, as they have been unable to tap Russian diesel and gasoline. Russia has banned exports of diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel, with only inter-governmental supply agreements already in place exempted from the ban.

Frequent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries and other energy infrastructure have left Russia suffering gasoline and diesel shortages for more than three months. Ukraine's drone campaign against Russian refineries forced many large processing sites offline in the spring and summer. For several months, Ukraine has been targeting Russian oil refineries in nearly daily drone attacks, aiming to force Putin into peace negotiations while crippling Russia's fuel supply to the frontline and to domestic gas stations.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com