Iran’s Land Trade Strategy Falters As Thousands of Trucks Stranded At Borders

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Iranian truck drivers are facing lengthy delays at border crossings with Pakistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Bureaucratic obstacles, customs problems, high fees and a lack of coordination are making it increasingly difficult for Iranian exporters and importers to move goods across the borders.

At the Turkey border alone, data from Iran’s International Transport Association indicates that about 3,700 trucks are stranded on the Iranian side, with some drivers reportedly waiting as long as 20 days.

The delays are already damaging cargo. Truck drivers reported that tons of dried apricots have spoiled while waiting to cross the borders. Other shipments, including iron ore, cement and bottled gas, have also been held up at crossings with Pakistan and Afghanistan. “We are not being taken responsibility for by Iran, and Pakistan is not allowing us to unload the cargo,” one driver said in a video published by an Iranian truckers’ association.

The problems highlight the difficulty of replacing maritime trade with overland transportation. Moving cargo by road is considerably slower and more expensive than shipping. According to the Wall Street Journal, transporting a container from China to Iran by land can cost around $12,000, compared with roughly $3,000 by sea. The Iran-China Chamber of Commerce estimates that the disruption could add approximately $18 billion a year to Iran’s logistics costs.

Iran has been forced to seek alternative routes after the U.S. blockade and military operations sharply reduced maritime trade through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait is one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints, and shipping traffic through it has fallen dramatically. On September 10, only seven vessels were recorded passing through the waterway, compared with a prewar daily average of about 125.

The disruption is also affecting Iran’s imports. Around 70% of the country’s imports normally arrive through ports that have been severely disrupted. Although food and humanitarian goods are theoretically exempt from sanctions and restrictions, shipping companies remain reluctant to do business with Iran because of the financial and security risks.

Iran has tried to compensate by increasing trade through alternative routes. Officials say cargo traffic through the Caspian Sea has risen by about 70% over the past five months. Iran has also been importing large quantities of wheat, corn and cooking oil from Russia.

Tehran has additionally explored land routes through Pakistan. Earlier this year, thousands of Iran-bound containers became stranded at Karachi, prompting Iranian and Pakistani officials to consider transporting the cargo overland across the roughly 900-kilometer border. Pakistan subsequently authorized additional transit routes connecting its ports with Iran.

But the growing congestion at Iran’s land borders demonstrates the limits of the strategy. Instead of simply replacing ships with trucks, Iran must contend with customs procedures, limited infrastructure, border restrictions and sharply higher transportation costs.

The result is a mounting economic squeeze on Tehran, as the country struggles to maintain imports and exports while finding alternatives to a maritime trade system heavily dependent on the Strait of Hormuz.