Iran has rejected reports that it has shut its borders with Pakistan, insisting that no restrictions exist on the export of Iranian goods, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Tehran has instead pointed to recent changes in Pakistan’s import documentation procedures as the real cause of the disruption to cross-border cargo.
Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam set out Tehran’s position in a statement posted on X, stating that Iran’s borders with all its neighbours remain open. “Currently, there are no restrictions on the Iranian side on the export of Iranian goods to Pakistan, including LPG,” he said.
The ambassador argued that sealing borders with neighbouring states, and with Pakistan in particular, would make little sense and would serve neither country’s interests in the present circumstances.
According to Moghadam, revisions to Pakistan’s E-Form procedure for imports from Iran have left traders practically unable to send consignments across the border. He said talks with Pakistani officials were under way to settle the matter.
The clarification follows reports of serious disruption to bilateral trade, especially in LPG. The ambassador said several hundred LPG-laden trucks had crossed from Rimdan into Gabd on the Pakistani side, but had remained stranded there for weeks without being unloaded or cleared, compounding the bottleneck in the flow of goods.
Moghadam stressed that border trade forms an essential part of agreements reached between the two countries at the highest level and serves the shared interests of both nations and their people. He said Iran had done everything possible to ease and expand trade with Pakistan and remained committed to working with Pakistani counterparts to resolve the current difficulties.
Both sides, he added, would continue working to smooth the movement of goods and deepen economic cooperation.
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