(AA Photo)
At Türkiye’s mountainous eastern border, hundreds of idling trucks stretch for miles along the highway leading into Iran.
Bustling even in normal times, the countries’ largest crossing is now a make-or-break economic lifeline for Tehran as the U.S. Navy blockades its ports.
Frustrated Iranian truck drivers spoke to The Associated Press at the Türkiye border crossing, where lines now stretch for miles.
“I’ve been driving through this border gate for 15 years. I’ve never had to wait as long as now,” said Muhammed Rıza Shiri, 55, who had waited four days to carry his load of rubber into Iran. “We had to wait at the end of a seven-kilometer line. We used to wait, at most, for three days here. Because of the war, the waiting times exceed five days.”
Iran accuses the U.S. of trying to weaken the country.
Iran has a huge challenge as it tries to shift trade from sea to land. Its economy relied on the gulf for over 80 percent of its trade before the war, according to Iran economist Mohammad Farzanegan.
Now Iran’s land crossings with Türkiye to the west and Pakistan to the east are crucial in connecting with Europe and Asia. Drivers carry goods that are vital to Iran’s petrochemical and other manufacturing that were badly damaged by U.S. and Israeli strikes.
But the land crossings are badly strained.
“Logistics, capacities of these borders are limited. Regulations, border controls, corruption, all these things would make the transit much more difficult and time-consuming,” Farzanegan said.
Overland trade “would not basically be able to substitute or compensate for the blockade.”
At Türkiye’s Gürbulak border, truck waiting times have more than quadrupled since the war began, according to data from the International Transporters Association, which represents Türkiye’s international logistics sector.
One Iranian official said the number of trucks has shot up.
