"The Border Is a Passage, Not a Stop": Through-Transport Decree Caps Border Holds at 2 Hours

According to Mehr News Agency on Wednesday, 14 October 2026 (22 Mehr 1405), President Masoud Pezeshkian issued the resolution on facilitating customs procedures and through-transport of goods under the approach "the border is a passage, not a stop". The National Transit Headquarters approved it on 1 August 2026 (10 Mordad 1405), and the president signed it on 8 October 2026 (16 Mehr 1405).

Under the resolution, goods entering or leaving through authorised border points may be sent to other authorised customs locations regardless of the destination stated in the transport documents or the order registration. Holding goods at entry and exit points is allowed only for animal and plant quarantine sampling and for at most 2 hours, and the absence of representatives of the permitting bodies does not block dispatch to the destination customs office. A mismatch in year of manufacture, country of origin, value or destination customs office against the order registration will not block clearance, provided the goods are neither prohibited nor smuggled. The decree aims to cut truck waiting times and the costs of moving goods through the border; Mehr's report does not yet record an outcome from its implementation.