From Bazargan to Mersin: how Iran, Turkey plan to reach $30b in trade
According to the Mehr News Agency, while Iran and Turkey are pursuing the goal of bringing bilateral trade to $30 billion, the gap between current trade and this target cannot be filled merely by increasing exports and imports. Developing border crossings, reducing truck stops, strengthening rail and road transport, using Turkish ports, and creating new trade routes have now become an important part of the two countries’ plan to increase exchanges.
In this context, Turkey is not merely a neighboring consumer market for Iran; the country’s geographical location, access to Europe’s transport network, and the Mediterranean and Black Sea ports have increased its capacity as one of the routes connecting Iranian goods to more distant markets.
Dariush Vossoughi, Iran’s commercial attaché in Istanbul, also referring to this same capacity, has considered the development of trade relations with Turkey as going beyond increasing exports to its market, and has emphasized using Turkey’s transport and logistics capacities to access European and African markets.
According to announced statistics, the volume of Iran-Turkey trade in the year 1404 was about $19.2 billion; a figure that includes $6.8 billion in Iran’s exports to Turkey and $12.4 billion in imports from that country. Therefore, realizing the $30 billion target means increasing trade by about $10.8 billion compared with last year’s level.
In the first five months of the year 1405, Iran’s exports to Turkey were announced at $3.7 billion and imports from that country at $2.8 billion.
Therefore, reaching $30 billion from the current level requires changes in the trade and logistics capacities of the two countries, because increasing trade volume without removing border bottlenecks can merely lead to increased exchange time and cost.
Among existing infrastructure, the Bazargan border is considered the most important overland connection point between Iran and Turkey; a route that, in addition to bilateral trade, also covers part of the transit flow among Turkey, Europe, Iran, and Central Asian markets.
In recent months, increasing the capacity of this border has been on the two countries’ agenda. According to Iran Customs, in Mordad, the number of trucks crossing Bazargan reached more than 350 per day, and a target was set to increase this figure to 400. In this framework, coordinating work shifts, facilitating control processes, managing empty and transit trucks, and reducing unnecessary stops were put on the agenda.
This capacity increase has become more important as Bazargan Customs has faced significant growth in cargo volume in recent months. According to the director general of Bazargan Customs, from the beginning of the year to Mordad, about 190,000 tons of goods were exported via this route to Turkey, southern Persian Gulf countries, and India, a 40 percent increase compared with the same period last year. During the same period, about 150,000 tons of essential goods, medicine, bananas, and other imported goods entered and cleared through the Bazargan route, showing 250 percent growth.
Thus, the Bazargan issue is not limited to Iran-Turkey trade, and this border is becoming one of the important routes for moving goods in the regional network.
On the other side of the border, Turkey and Iran held a joint meeting in August to examine truck traffic problems and waiting times. The gradual increase in truck traffic, wider use of the TIR Carnet, and implementation of the electronic e-TIR system were among the solutions raised at this meeting.
In August, the International Road Transport Union also considered the Gürbulak–Bazargan route one of the region’s important road corridors; a route that connects Turkey and Europe through Iran to Central Asia and other Asian markets.
Therefore, each day of reduction in truck stop time is not merely a customs achievement; it directly affects transport costs, the predictability of delivery times, and the attractiveness of Iran’s route for transit.
Alongside increasing the capacity of existing crossings, the two countries are also seeking to increase the number of border crossing points. According to Iran’s commercial attaché in Istanbul, three main crossings between Iran and Turkey are currently active, and the issue of creating a fourth crossing in the Kuzeh Rash region has also been pursued in recent years. An initial agreement to create this crossing near Salmas has been proposed, and its goal is to increase trade capacity and reduce pressure on existing crossings.
Increasing the number of crossings matters because $30 billion in trade growth, if reliant on a few limited routes, could again lead to truck queues and higher logistics costs.
In this framework, the creation of a joint free zone among Khoy, Van, and Mersin is also being pursued; a plan that, if operationalized, could transform the two countries’ trade relationship from a merely border relationship into a broader logistics and production chain.
In September, the head of the Iran-Turkey Parliamentary Friendship Group announced that the proposal to create this free zone with Khoy as its center has been pursued and that the Iranian government’s approval for it has been obtained. Under this plan, the Khoy and Van route would continue and connect to Mersin, and the creation of economic hinterlands at the Razi border has also been deemed necessary to support this plan.
According to the plan to create a free zone centered on Khoy, the Khoy and Van route would continue and connect to Mersin, and the creation of economic hinterlands at the Razi border has also been deemed necessary to support this plan.
Also, the secretary of the Supreme Council of Free Zones has announced that necessary measures and coordination have been carried out by Iran to launch the joint Khoy-Turkey free zone, and continuing the work requires coordination with the Turkish side.
The importance of this plan lies in the fact that Khoy and the Razi border can be connected in a logistics chain to Van and then to Turkey’s transport network, making the access route for Iranian goods to Western ports and markets shorter and more diverse.
Another focus in developing trade relations is using the capacity of Turkish ports, including Mersin, Samsun, Trabzon, and Izmir. In this model, Turkey is not only a destination for Iranian goods; it can also be part of the chain for transferring goods to other markets. In particular, Mersin Port, in connection with the Iran-Turkey overland route, can play the role of a maritime hinterland for Iran’s trade with Mediterranean and European markets.
This issue has become more important as geopolitical developments and disruptions in some traditional trade routes have increased the importance of alternative and combined routes. In such conditions, connecting road, rail, and port can play as much a role in trade development as increasing border capacity itself.
According to this report, alongside existing capacities, Iran’s main issue in the Turkish market is not only increasing the value of exports; rather, it is increasing the share of Iranian goods in the Turkish market and using Turkey as a route to access third markets.
This matters because trade between the two countries still faces obstacles such as anti-dumping measures, quotas on some goods, higher tariffs and fees, and transit problems; obstacles that, even if transport capacity is available, can limit access of Iranian goods to the Turkish market.
On the other hand, trade development requires a more active presence of the private sector of the two countries. In recent years, thousands of companies with Iranian capital have operated in Turkey, and according to the representative of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce in Tir, the number of companies with Iranian capital in Turkey has reached 7,288.
Accordingly, for Iran, Turkey can be both a destination market and a link in the chain of access to European and other regional markets. Therefore, the main challenge on the path to $30 billion in trade is not only “how much goods are exchanged”; rather, it is at what cost, at what speed, and through which routes goods can move between the two countries and markets beyond them.
At a meeting in Istanbul, in early July, ICCIMA head Samad Hassanzadeh met with Turkey-Iran Business Council (DEIK) and Iran-Turkey Joint Chamber officials. He highlighted over 200 investment opportunities prepared by ICCIMA for non-Iranian investors, inviting Turkish private-sector participation. He called Turkey Iran’s largest regional economic partner and key gateway to Europe, thanked Ankara for supporting Iran during the Sacred Defense, COVID-19, the 12-day war, and the recent imposed war, and condemned attacks that martyred Iranian leaders. He said official Iran-Turkey trade reached $23 billion this year despite war restrictions; the two presidents aim for $30 billion. He urged joint industrial towns in free zones and logistics/transit cooperation, especially petrochemicals and refining.
ICCIMA Vice President Qadir Ghiyafeh described five centuries of continuous ties and called the economies complementary, not rivals. He invited Turkish investment in mining, steel, petrochemicals, refining, energy, transport, logistics, ports, agriculture, food, tourism, pharmaceuticals, advanced technology, AI, and the digital economy. He backed technology transfer, joint R&D, knowledge-based firms, border-capacity expansion, rail/road/maritime links, and joint logistics centers. He called $30 billion achievable and $50 billion possible medium-term if banking, legal, customs, and transit obstacles are removed.
Mehrdad Saadat, head of the Iran-Turkey Joint Chamber, said preferential trade is outdated and proposed free trade. He noted Iran has almost no share of Turkey’s $400 billion imports despite capacity to export over $15 billion, and suggested a joint industrial town, local-currency trade, and allowing technology/infrastructure purchases under financial-transfer rules. He also proposed reciprocal chamber offices in Tehran and Istanbul.
On the Turkish side, Ferhat Dortkoshe said Turkey should not be only a transit corridor but a production/investment hub and bridge to Europe; Osman Aksoy hoped sanctions would be lifted and stressed trust and joint production. TIM head Ahmet Gulech said his assembly has 61 associations and 160,000 exporters/importers and urged direct B2B ties.
Other Iranian delegates stressed joint production for third markets, consortiums, and solving financial channels; Iranian assets in Turkey could serve as collateral. The overall message: $30–50 billion trade requires free trade, investment, logistics, and banking fixes.