Majid-Reza Hariri, president of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, warned about the consequences of the continued maritime blockade of Iran, saying that the country’s economy must not become accustomed to “circumventing the blockade” and that this situation must be brought to an end by any means possible.
In an interview with the state-run Khabar Online, Hariri said: “Whether through negotiations, pleading, threats, or war, this maritime blockade must come to an end.” He emphasized that the economic consequences of the blockade could be even more severe than those of a direct war.
According to him, more than 80% of global trade is conducted by sea, and shifting a large portion of Iran’s trade to overland routes would sharply increase the costs of imports and exports.
Hariri said that transporting a container from China to Iran by sea costs about $3,000, whereas transporting the same shipment overland costs an average of about $12,000. Referring to the arrival of about 2 million containers through Iran’s southern ports each year, he estimated that continuing this situation could impose about $18 billion in additional costs on the economy.
The president of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce also warned that higher transportation costs could eliminate a large portion of the profits from Iran’s non-oil exports and make continued exports of some goods economically unviable.
He described the “neither war nor peace” situation as economically debilitating for Iran and said Tehran should use diplomatic, legal, and other available means to end the blockade.
Hariri ultimately said that if the United States is unwilling to end the blockade, Iran’s regime should increase the cost of continuing this policy for Washington, even if this process leads to a military confrontation.
