How is terraform import run?

`terraform init` initializes the working directory, downloads providers, and sets up backends; it does not involve importing resources.

With the introduction of `import` blocks in Terraform 1.5, the definition of resources to be imported can be integrated directly into the Terraform configuration. When such an `import` block is present, `terraform plan` will evaluate the configuration and determine the resources that *will be imported* during the subsequent `terraform apply`, thus making the import process conceptually visible or 'part of' the planning stage, even if the actual import occurs during `apply`.

`terraform refresh` updates the state file to reflect the current real-world infrastructure, but it does not import new, unmanaged resources into the state.

While `terraform import` (the CLI command) is run by an explicit call, the question might be implicitly referring to how import operations are integrated into the overall Terraform workflow with `import` blocks, where `plan` plays a crucial role.

`terraform import` (the command) is not part of `init`, `plan`, or `refresh` commands directly, and `import` blocks are specifically part of the `plan/apply` lifecycle, not all of them.