The downtime of Dagestani truck drivers in Iran is due to Azerbaijan's border closure.

About 24 hours ago, Azerbaijan closed the border with Iran to heavy trucks following drone strikes in Nakhchivan. About a thousand vehicles are awaiting exit from Iran, and about 150 are awaiting entry, a representative of a transport organization reported. The issue is being resolved at the diplomatic level.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," heavy truck drivers remain at the border in Iran and are unable to leave, as money and fuel are running out, drivers from Dagestan complained. The appeal from the Dagestani drivers was published on his Telegram channel by Shamil Khadulaev, head of the Public Monitoring Commission of Dagestan. "We are currently in Iran and cannot leave. The Russian consulate is ignoring us. We don't know what to do," they said. Makamagomed Khazhabagandov, head of the Dagestani regional public organization "Association of Automobile Carriers," told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that Azerbaijan closed its border with Iran around 5 p.m. on March 5.

"Azerbaijan has closed both entry and exit points into the country. On the Azerbaijani side of the border, heading toward Iran, there are about 150 heavy-duty trucks, about 50 of which are from Dagestan. Half of them are loaded, the rest are empty, en route to pick up goods. On the Iranian side, there are about 800 loaded trucks, plus another 200 empty ones," says Khazhabagandov.

He said that a support office for Russian truck drivers is operating at the Payane Astara cargo terminal on the Iranian-Azerbaijani border.

"They provide legal assistance to drivers, help with license revocations, and with customs clearance issues. However, they are not responsible for issues related to the state border closure. As I was told at the support office for truck drivers, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia has joined efforts to resolve the situation regarding the closure of the Azerbaijani-Iranian border." "There is preliminary information that the border may open soon," said Makamagomed Khazhabagandov.

He added that mainly fruits and vegetables are exported from Iran to Russia in heavy-duty trucks. Due to prolonged downtime, the products could spoil, resulting in significant losses due to force majeure, Khazhabagandov added.

 As a reminder, one drone crashed on March 5th in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic airport terminal, and another crashed near a school in the village of Shekerabad. The airport building was damaged. Four people were injured in the drone attack on the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic; their condition is stable. The President of Azerbaijan demanded an apology and an investigation into the incident, as well as punishment for those responsible.

Author: Oleg Ionov