Iran says fuel truck delays at Dogharoun border cut to 48 hours
Local Iranian officials say that with the implementation of “coordinated measures” at the official Dogharoun crossing, the process of moving fuel trucks toward Afghanistan has sped up, reducing waiting times for the fleet from seven days to 48 hours.
Mehdi Rajabi, the political, security and social deputy to the governor of Taybad, said during an inspection of traffic at the border that about 1,700 Iranian and foreign fuel trucks had crossed through Dogharoun and entered Afghanistan over the past six days. He said 600 fuel trucks are currently waiting to depart in one of the parking areas in the border zone.
He added that more than 300 trucks carrying fuel and petroleum products move daily from Dogharoun toward Afghanistan, and roughly the same number arrive at the crossing from different parts of Iran.
The Iranian official also said queues have formed for trucks carrying transit cargo, adding that about 1,500 transit trucks are currently waiting to exit. Rajabi put the time for transshipment of export goods at Dogharoun at about four days, a process in which cargo is transferred from one vehicle to another at a midway point.
According to the deputy governor of Taybad, coordination among Iranian bodies and cooperation from the Afghan side at Islam Qala directly affect the speed and quality of traffic for the fleet. He also noted that increasing the daily transit capacity to 2,000 trucks on the Dogharoun-Islam Qala route has been one of the points emphasized by officials on both sides in their joint meetings.
The Dogharoun crossing is one of the main trade routes linking Iran and Afghanistan, and a significant share of goods belonging to Afghan traders and some neighboring countries is transported along this route to Afghanistan after entering Iran’s southern ports. Taybad county is located 225 km southeast of Mashhad.
