The row between Iran and Turkey over the border transit fees is to be resolved soon, Chairman of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Mines and Industries, Gholam-Hossein Shafei, announced on Tuesday.
“We believe that international rates should be used while determining truck transit fees and that is not a baseless claim,” he said, adding that, negotiations are underway to find a solution for the current dispute.
A cross-border crisis over truck transit fees has heated up after Turkey attempted to increase border passage fees for Iranian trucks, a move Iran considers to be against the law.
Last week, Iran’s deputy roads and urban development Davood Keshavarzian said that Turkey had violated a bilateral agreement by doubling the passage fees for Iranian trucks. Turkey and Iran had signed an agreement on road transportation back in 1994.
Pointing to the recent decision regarding fuel supply to Turkish trucks, Shafei noted that what is clear is that the Turkish trucks which pass through Iran’s territory cannot use the subsidized fuel, which is provided to Iranian trucks. “So, international rates will be applied when calculating the transit fees for trucks coming in from Turkey.”
However, Iran’s ambassador to Turkey, Alireza Bigdeli, said on Monday that the dispute between the two countries over the border transit fees has already been resolved.
“The transit fee row is now over following talks between the relevant officials from Iran and Turkey,” Bigdeli asserted.
Back in October, Turkey objected to the $750 transit pass fee, which Iran applied to Turkish trucks, asking Iran to change the fee, a call rejected by Iran.
Turkey increased its transit fee on Iranian trucks to $750 on Oct. 11, prompting Iran to double its fee to $1,500 a few hours later. Turkey doubled its fee on Iranian trucks to $1,500 following Iran’s move, adding that it had begun charging 25 Euros per 100 kilometers for fuel from Iranian trucks as Iran does to Turkish trucks.
