Pakistan Closes Border Crossings with Iran, Citing Security as Tehran Points to Technical Issues

Pakistan has suspended trade with Iran through the Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan crossings in Balochistan province, leaving goods and trucks stranded on both sides of the border. The decision comes as the two countries offer differing explanations for the closure, while Islamabad is acting as a mediator between Tehran and Washington.

According to the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI), around 2,000 trucks are stuck on both sides of the border. Passenger transport at the Gabd-Rimdan crossing is still operating, according to Iran's WANA news agency. Pakistan's federal government has made no public comment, and Balochistan provincial authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

Two different explanations

Bakhtiar Ismail, deputy district commissioner of Chagai district, where the Taftan crossing is located, described the closure as a security measure. In a post on X, he said it was a temporary step to improve border management and support counter-terrorism efforts, and that the crossing would reopen as soon as effective measures were in place.

The same day, Shahid Rind, the adviser on political and media affairs to the Balochistan chief minister, also wrote on X that the closure was meant to address security concerns, curb smuggling and make the border system more effective.

Iran gave a different account. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told the IRNA news agency that due to certain technical issues and a requirement to apply precautionary measures, movement and exchanges across the border had been temporarily halted.

Imtiaz Baloch, an independent researcher in Quetta specialising in Balochistan security, said security may only be part of the reason. In his view, the closure appears to stem from broader strategic calculations, with security as one possible factor, against the backdrop of economic sanctions on Iran.

Javad Heiran-Nia, head of the Persian Gulf Studies Group at the Middle East Strategic Studies Centre in Iran, said Tehran's wording could cover a range of issues, from operational and administrative problems at the crossing, customs procedures and verification of trade documents to financial transactions and tighter security controls.

Mediating between Iran and the US

Pakistan has served as a go-between for Washington and Tehran since the US-Israel war with Iran began on 28 February. Islamabad brokered a ceasefire on 8 April, but the agreement collapsed within days. The US subsequently blockaded Iran's southern ports.

With Iran's ports blockaded, a Commerce Ministry order on 25 April allowed third-country goods to be transported overland to Iran along six routes ending at Gabd and Taftan.

In June, Pakistan and Qatar mediated the Islamabad Memorandum, signed electronically by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The memorandum called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, lifting the blockade and holding 60 days of negotiations toward a lasting settlement.

The agreement lasted about a month. In July, Iran said it was no longer bound by parts of the deal after the US resumed strikes and its naval blockade.

Washington has since widened sanctions. On 24 August, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a campaign dubbed "Operation Economic Outcast", extending sanctions to shipping, gold, aviation and digital assets.

Earlier this month, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan said Pakistan would continue to comply with all existing sanctions mechanisms, without specifying which ones.

Official bilateral trade between Iran and Pakistan is modest, at about $2.8 billion in 2023-24, of which Pakistani exports accounted for $684 million, according to the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI). Analysts say decades of US sanctions on Iran are the main factor.

Instability in Balochistan

But the US and the pressure it exerts on countries like Pakistan are not the only factors shaping how Islamabad handles its border with Iran.

Balochistan is Pakistan's largest province, covering 44 percent of the country's territory with a population of nearly 15 million at the 2023 census. It is the poorest province, borders Iran, and has seen repeated insurgencies since 1948. The latest, led by Baloch ethno-nationalist militant groups, has lasted two decades. These groups accuse the state of exploiting natural resources while local communities remain deprived.

Attacks have risen sharply this year. The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based research organisation, recorded 62 security personnel killed in Balochistan in July, up from six in June. In September, it counted 225 militant attacks nationwide, the highest monthly figure in 12 years.

On Friday, at least 20 police officers were abducted from a bus in Mastung district. Two days later, an army major was killed by an improvised explosive device in Gwadar district, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing.

Violence has also struck Chagai, Balochistan's remote district bordering Iran. Earlier this month, four travellers, including a customs official, were abducted from a bus there.

Security analyst Imtiaz Baloch said Pakistani officials have long blamed porous borders for the violence. But in his view, the problem is not only the border's permeability. Militants remain active in the area but appear to target specific objectives, and there is no clear sign yet of large-scale mobilisation by these groups on either side of the border.

Instability on the other side

Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province, just across the frontier, has also seen repeated attacks on security forces.

On 9 October, Nosrat Eftekhari, a senior official in the provincial police command, was killed by a roadside bomb near Zahedan, according to Iranian media. The incident followed several other security incidents.

Days later, on 14 October, the commander of a women's unit of the Basij paramilitary force was shot dead outside her home in Mehrestan district, according to Tasnim news agency. Another officer was also killed in a separate attack on a police vehicle in the same district.

An alliance of Baloch militant groups formed last December, with Jaish al-Adl — a Sunni Baloch militant group founded in 2012 — as its main member, has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Sistan-Baluchestan.

Tehran has long accused the group of operating from Pakistan, but Islamabad has repeatedly insisted it has no organised presence on Pakistani territory.

Heiran-Nia noted the need to distinguish clearly between the presence of militant groups in Pakistan and evidence that they crossed the border to carry out a specific attack.

Tehran-based political analyst Seyed Reza Hashemi Jebeli said Tehran wants Pakistan's government to do more to stop cross-border attacks. In his view, the key issue for Tehran is that Pakistan must honour its commitment to prevent anti-Iran militant groups from operating in the border region.

A history of mistrust

Tehran's accusations are not new. After Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for a December 2023 attack that killed 11 Iranian police officers, Iran's foreign minister at the time called on Pakistan to act.

On 16 January 2024, Iran carried out missile and drone strikes in Panjgur, another border district. Pakistan said the strikes killed two children. Two days later, Pakistan struck targets in Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province, killing at least nine people. Intense diplomatic efforts afterwards eased border tensions, and the two countries agreed to expand security cooperation.

According to Heiran-Nia, a prolonged closure of the border crossings could test Pakistan's mediating role between the US and Iran. If the border dispute is not resolved, Tehran may question whether Islamabad can maintain effective relations with Iran while cooperating with Washington's pressure campaign.