Cargo truck congestion at border unrelated to Israel conflict, says Iranian consul general in Armenia’s Kapan

The traffic congestion at the Meghri border crossing point is caused by the size of the clearance area and not an influx related to the Iranian-Israeli conflict, according to Morteza Abedin, the Iranian consul general in Kapan, the Armenian town in the southern Syunik province bordering Iran.

Furthermore, the ongoing construction at the border crossing point is also a factor.

“There’s a problem of limited area and parking spaces in the border crossing point of the two countries, and that’s why there is work in progress to improve and expand the crossing points. At this moment there are over 500 Armenian cargo trucks waiting in the Iranian checkpoint to load cargo and enter Armenia. This many vehicles have caused congestions, and even blocked the highway,” he said in an interview with Syunik TV. 

The consul general stressed that the problem is unrelated to the Iranian-Israeli conflict.

He said that Armenian drivers, upon crossing into the Armenian side, park their trucks there and go home, thus further causing congestions.

As a solution he proposed that during congestions in the coming days the Armenian cargo trucks ought to remain in the Armenian stations until the congestion eases, and then head to the border with Iran.

However, the Iranian diplomat said, the Armenian checkpoint has the clearance capacity of 100-120 incoming trucks per day.

Armenian customs representatives have visited the Iranian checkpoint a few days ago to inspect the problem.

When the parking space of the trucks is relatively freer, then a number of vehicles matching the clearance capacity of the Armenian checkpoint shall be given a go-ahead, the diplomat proposed. 

“Our goal is to carry out maximum exports and imports in the bilateral crossing points, as well as create a convenient environment for the drivers. At this moment large-scale construction is underway in the Armenian and Iranian crossing points and this is also negatively impacting the cargo shipment process,” the consul said.