Iran shifts trade north amid US blockade

Shafaq News- Tehran

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday ordered measures to secure food, medicine, and other essential imports through alternative trade corridors to offset disruptions affecting key southern routes following the war with the United States and Israel.

According to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, Pezeshkian also instructed authorities to expand the use of neighboring countries’ transport networks and prevent market instability and price increases. Large sections of land-border crossings and alternative transport routes have already been activated following coordination with neighboring states, while the president called for greater use of northern ports and trade corridors linking Iran to Pakistan, Russia, and Azerbaijan.

Pezeshkian also instructed the Foreign Ministry to intensify economic diplomacy with neighboring countries and said he was prepared to personally engage regional leaders if necessary to secure trade flows and essential imports.

Iran has increasingly shifted trade northward and overland following weeks of restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan recently expanded land access for Iran-bound cargo, according to official statements. Still, Central Bank Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin assured that Iran faced “no financing difficulties” in securing food, medicine, and other essential goods despite continuing disruptions affecting traditional import routes.

Shipping traffic through Hormuz, which handled roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, remains significantly below pre-war levels despite partial easing measures, with governments and businesses across the region continuing to reroute imports through alternative corridors.