Terminating the 2004 agreement with Armenia, Iran recently announced its decision to charge $120 for each car with Armenian license plates entering the country starting from May 21.
Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development justified its decision by the fact that the Armenian side, contrary to the agreements reached, began collecting customs payments from Iranian cars in 2018. In addition, in early 2021 Armenia unilaterally canceled the deal on unloading and loading of cargo at the Meghri airport terminal.
In comments to Panorama.am, economist Suren Parsyan claims Iran has decided to make a “mirror move” after Armenia violated the agreements with the country.
The economist believes that the new decision will result in higher transportation costs for trucks traveling from Armenia to Iran. However, according to him, it should be taken into account that the cargo transportation between Armenia and Iran is mainly carried out by Iranian trucks, meaning there are few Armenian trucks carrying cargo to Iran.
"When the Armenian side decided that Armenia and Iran would not charge fees for cargo transportation, in fact, it mostly benefited Iran, since Iranian trucks come to Armenia more. Incidentally, Iranian trucking services are more affordable than ours. Besides, there are problems with cargo transportation through Iran. Many economic entities prefer to transport goods through Iran using the services of Iranian companies, as in this case there are incomparably fewer problems," Suren Parsyan said.
The economist claims that Armenian companies transporting goods to Iran will be most affected by the new decision, adding their services will become more expensive.
Asked whether the decision could suggest that Iran's attitude toward Armenia has changed, Parsyan says he does not think so, claiming that it is not such a global issue that could affect Armenian-Iranian relations.
"In essence, Armenia will benefit from this situation, as the budgetary funds will increase. For example, if 100 Iranian trucks enter Armenian territory and five Armenian trucks enter Iran's territory, naturally, more money goes into our budget. I think that Armenia’s policy pursued a fiscal goal," Parsyan stressed.