Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz says the flow of Iranian gas to Turkey has been resumed five days after it was halted by an explosion in the east of the country.

"The Turkey to Iran natural gas pipeline just started to pump this morning," Yildiz said on Sunday.

"Turkey is currently getting natural gas from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan and we did not have any supply problems," he said.


The explosion occurred in the area of Dogubayazit, a town in Agri Province near the Iranian border, in the early hours of October 8.

This is not the first time that the gas flow from Iran to Turkey is stopped.

In the past, Turkish officials had cited blasts caused by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) separatists, or technical problems as the main reasons for the halts.

The PKK has claimed responsibility for similar attacks on the pipeline in Turkey.

The party has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead.
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News ID 183047