Iran Replaces Pakistan in Trade With Afghanistan

An unprecedented decline in transit trade between Islamabad and Kabul has made Iran the main gateway and Afghanistan’s largest trading partner. According to Pars Today, citing IRIB News Agency, rising border tensions between Islamabad and Kabul and Pakistan’s repeated closure of transit crossings caused transit trade between the two countries to plunge by 93% during the 2026 fiscal year. As a result, the Islamic Republic of Iran, accounting for nearly half of Afghanistan’s total imports, has officially replaced Pakistan’s ports as the country’s principal hub for cross-border trade. - Kayhan