Ali Mahmoudi Sarai, the chairman of the Iran Transportation and Logistics Federation, announced on Tuesday, October 8, in an interview with the regime’s ILNA news agency about the new sanctions from the European Union against Iranian trucks.
According to Sarai, for more than a month, the loading of 182 European goods with Iranian trucks has been “prohibited.”
While France has stopped issuing transit permits, known as “Zola,” for Iranian truck drivers since the beginning of 2023, similar news has emerged regarding Germany and Italy’s refusal to provide visas to Iranian truck drivers.
According to Mahmoudi Sarai, currently only Italy and Germany, albeit in a limited manner, are issuing visas to Iranian drivers among European countries.
Previously, the prolonged process of issuing visas for Iranian truck drivers had caused them to be grounded and unable to export their shipments.
Last year, even Russia had delayed many Iranian truck drivers at the borders due to the lack of visa issuance.
During the time that Iranian trucks have been banned from entering Europe, Turkish truck drivers have filled their place in the transportation market and are moving through Europe without problems.
Apart from Europe’s opposition to issuing transit permits for Iranian trucks, the international insurance coverage for trucks known as “Green Insurance” has also become another obstacle for Iran’s road transit to Europe.
Iranian trucks are unable to obtain Green Insurance due to EU sanctions, and according to reports, they purchase this insurance from intermediaries at the Bulgarian border at three times the price.
Fatemeh Ghanbarzadeh, the vice president of the Transportation, Transit, and Logistics Commission of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, recently reported efforts to lift Iran’s suspension from the “Convention on the Harmonization of Green Card Insurance” and stated that “the necessary assurances regarding the adoption of required mechanisms have been provided to the Green Insurance Office in Geneva.”
Despite benefiting from a suitable geographical position for exporting goods and services, Iran has been deprived of revenues from transit and road transport due to sanctions.
On the other hand, the Iranian regime’s passivity in developing transit infrastructure, along with sanctions, has led to the creation of corridors in the region that bypass Iran.
The “Zangezur Corridor,” which connects Azerbaijan through Armenia to Nakhchivan and Turkey, is one of these routes that has recently sparked significant criticism regarding the cooperation between Russia and the Iranian regime.
