Iran is pushing trade overland as a U.S. blockade limits most imports and cuts off oil and gas sales. Hundreds of trucks queue for miles at Turkey’s Gürbulak crossing, where waits have more than quadrupled since the war began, the International Transporters Association reports.
Before the war, Iran relied on the Gulf for more than 80% of its trade, economist Mohammad Farzanegan said. He said limited border capacity, regulations and other logistical hurdles mean land routes cannot make up for the blockade. An Iranian trade official said truck numbers at the border rose from 200 to 1,200, beyond destination-country capacity.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran wants the U.S. blockade lifted before allowing commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz again. Iranian driver Akbar Sadigi said waits cut his trips from two a month to one, halving his income; he said truck fuel prices in Iran had risen 25% since his last trip. The association’s Gürbulak representative said Turkish customs cut waits for vehicles coming from Iran from 30 to 22 days by adding lanes at fuel-measurement stations and doubling X-ray scanners. Iran and Pakistan plan 24-hour border operations and a new Kuhak crossing, Iran’s interior minister said.
