Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said that a delegation from the country would head to Turkey to solve the problems that Ankara created for Iranian truck drivers at its border crossing.
During a press conference on Monday, Baghaei added that the problem is not political but rather technical and that the relevant authorities, mainly from the transportation and fuel supply sectors, are addressing the issue.
“We, and Turkey, have been trying to solve this issue over the past few days, given that cargo transportation is important for both countries,” he stated.
Following Turkey’s decision to scrap the tax exemption on fuel for transit truck drivers, over 1,000 trucks have been stuck at the Bazargan border crossing since December 8 and remain so to this day. Prior to the implementation of this recent policy change, 300 trucks would cross the Bazargan border daily.
The revocation of the fuel tax exemption for transit truck drivers means that Iranian trucks must pay a tax equivalent to their fuel tank capacity upon entering Turkey, which could increase transit costs by up to 50% for Iranian transporters and render cross-border trade economically unfeasible.