Iran considers leasing port infastructure to Afghanistan

Iran considers leasing port infastructure to Afghanistan
A speed boat passes by oil docks at the port of Kalantari in the city of Chabahar, 300 km east of the Strait of Hormuz, 17 January 2012.
Reuters

Iran could lease port facilities to Afghanistan to help it develop trade, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has said. The idea was floated on the side lines of official meetings between Afghan and Iranian officials, Baghaei said.

Baghaei told a press conference on Monday that the leases could be offered in the spirit of “good neighbourliness," Iranian news agency ISNA reported.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei attends an interview in Tehran, Iran, 5 April 2026.
Reuters

"This measure is, in fact, one of the positive initiatives in the direction of developing trade cooperation and strengthening neighbourly relations," Baghaei added according to ISNA.

He added that it was a common practice among countries internationally to offer landlocked countries which don't have access to open waters with leased facilities.

Talks between the two countries also covered industrial cooperation and bilateral trade, according to Iranian media reports.

Trade between Afghanistan and Iran reached nearly $3.37 billion in 2025, Afghanistan's Spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry told Afghan news agency Pajhwok last year. 

Afghanistan has expanded the use of trade routes through Iran due to border tensions with Pakistan.

Iran does not officially recognise the Taliban administration in Kabul, but authorities in Tehran maintain close diplomatic, economic and security ties. 

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