{"id":237623,"date":"2025-06-18T19:41:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T09:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=63289"},"modified":"2025-06-18T19:41:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T09:41:16","slug":"rail-freight-cant-cross-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=237623","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Rail freight can\u2019t cross Iran\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new planned multimodal freight route from China to Armenia has been cancelled. Ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran have made it impossible to send freight via rail through the latter\u2019s territory.<\/strong>
\n<\/span>Armenia and China were planning to launch a new freight service soon. To their disappointment, Israeli attacks on Iran have put that project on hold. \u201cThe agreement between the two sides is signed. We were planning to launch the first container train from Chinese Xi\u2019an to Yerevan after 20 June\u201d, explains a representative of the Armenian chamber of commerce to local media.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, against the background of the Iranian-Israeli escalation we have cancelled the shipment, since the freight will not be able to cross the territory of Iran.\u201d The representative did not provide further details as to why the goods cannot go through the country, be it for risk or insurance reasons, infrastructural limitations or other considerations.<\/p>\n

Goods stuck in the port<\/h2>\n

The shipment would have crossed Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan before entering Iranian territory. It would cover nearly the entire journey through Iran via rail, before switching to trucks in the town of Jolfa for the last leg into Armenia, taking a total of 25 days.<\/p>\n

Chinese goods occasionally make their way into Armenia through the Iranian Indian Ocean port at Bandar-Abbas. There too, freight cannot continue on its way to Armenia: roads are closed due to the ongoing conflict. Goods are therefore stuck in the port. Alternative routes into Armenia go through Dubai or around Africa and through the Mediterranean Sea.<\/p>\n