The transit of Afghan traders’ goods through the Sheikh Abu Nasr Farahi border crossing doubled in the first six months of the solar year 1405, reaching 805,000 tonnes, according to Iranian media.

Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted Mohammad Kuhgard, Director General of Customs in Iran’s South Khorasan Province, as saying transit volumes increased by 100 percent compared with the same period last year, strengthening the crossing’s role in regional trade.

Kuhgard also reported a sharp rise in goods handled under the “transit from origin” procedure at Mahirud Customs. Some 85,000 tonnes of goods passed through the facility during the period, an increase of more than 1,300 percent year-on-year.

Under this procedure, customs formalities for Afghan traders’ goods are completed at Mahirud before the shipments are transported to their intended destination countries.

Kuhgard said more than 65 kilometres of the road connecting Mahirud in Iran to Farah Province in Afghanistan have been asphalted. Completion of the route could help reduce transit times and transportation costs between the two countries.

The head of Iran’s Birjand Chamber of Commerce described Afghanistan as South Khorasan’s main export market and trading partner, saying stronger commercial ties, easier imports and the removal of customs barriers could further expand bilateral trade.

Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Farzana Sadeq, has called for extending Afghanistan’s railway network from Herat to the Termez border area in Uzbekistan to strengthen regional trade and transport links.

Farzana made the proposal during a specialised meeting on the Trans-Afghan Corridor in Astana, Kazakhstan, saying Iran is exploring ways to expand railway connectivity with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan.

She said the proposed route could create new opportunities for freight transportation and improve regional countries’ access to open waters. She added that the railway connection should eventually link with the wider railway networks of Central Asia and China.

The Iranian minister also proposed that countries along the Iran–Afghanistan–Tajikistan–Kyrgyzstan–China corridor hold a meeting under the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) to identify practical mechanisms for implementing the plan.

Referring to the Chabahar transit agreement between Iran, Afghanistan and India, Farzana said the port has the potential to facilitate the movement of goods from Afghanistan and Central Asian countries to international markets.

She also identified potential railway connections linking Afghanistan with Türkiye and Europe through Sarakhs and Razi, as well as access to the Caucasus and the Black Sea through Sarakhs and Jolfa, as projects worth pursuing within the regional transport network.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Works said the country has significant potential to serve as a regional connectivity hub. The ministry said Afghanistan welcomes investment from all countries, including Iran, in railway development and transit infrastructure and is ready to cooperate on such projects.

Transport ministers from Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, along with the head of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s railway authority, attended the Trans-Afghan Corridor meeting in Astana.

Mohsen Rokni, head of the Dogharoun border terminal, says the crossing accounted for 70 percent of Iran’s exports to Afghanistan during the first half of the current solar year, making it the leading export gateway among border crossings in Iran’s Razavi Khorasan Province.

According to Rokni, Dogharoun also accounted for 34 percent of the province’s imports and 20 percent of inbound transit goods from Afghanistan to Iran during the same period.

He said major Iranian exports through the crossing include construction materials, steel products, food items, fruits and vegetables, and petroleum products.

Located near the Iranian city of Taybad along the Afghan border, Dogharoun remains a key trade and transit route between the two countries.