Roads Minister: Imports Through Northern Sea Borders Rose 76% in First Half of the Year, but Southern Ports Are Not Yet Fully Replaced

Roads and Urban Development Minister Farzaneh Sadegh told parliament's open session on Tuesday, November 3, 2026 (12 Aban 1405), during a review of the Civil Engineering Commission's report on border crossings, that after the restrictions at southern ports, imports through the country's northern sea borders rose 76 percent in the first six months of the year and road-border imports rose 41 percent. She said exports rose 10 percent through northern ports, 9 percent through road borders and 53 percent by rail.

Sadegh noted that more than 85 percent of goods entering and leaving the country previously moved through southern ports, and that replacing that capacity fully will take time and infrastructure. She blamed most of the long truck queues on neighbouring countries' limits and quotas on admitting Iranian trucks, and said five sessions of the national crossing headquarters and 10 sessions of the border facilitation committee have been held. Speaker Ghalibaf had asked committees the same day to examine the truck queues urgently. The figures are the minister's; she gave "the first half of the year" as the comparison period.