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KABUL — Iran has banned fuel exports to Afghanistan, stranding about 3,000 fuel trucks at the border and driving up wholesale prices for the refined products ahead of what many Afghans fear will be a blistery winter in their oil-poor nation, officials said Wednesday.
Although Tehran has not officially confirmed the move, it appears to reflect Iran's concern that the fuel is being funneled to NATO forces fighting the Taliban.
Afghan officials insist the stranded shipments — which include gasoline, diesel and heating oil from Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan — are aimed for the local market.
There are as many as 3,000 trucks stranded on the Iranian side of the border that were headed for the eastern Afghan provinces of Farah, Nimroz and Herat, according to Afghan customs and commerce ministry officials.
"This fuel is brought in by Afghan businessmen," Mozammil Shinwari, the head of the Afghan commerce ministry's international relations department, told The Associated Press. "We asked border authorities in Iran why the trucks were stopped, and were told that the order came from security officials in Iran."
Shinwari said Afghan officials have met with officials in Iran, but no official explanation has been offered.
Tehran has good relations with Kabul but has been uneasy about the presence of so many NATO forces — mainly U.S. troops — in the country. U.S. officials, in turn, have accused Iran of aiding militants in Afghanistan with funds and weapons. Tehran has also sent millions of dollars to Afghanistan — funds it says are intended to aid in reconstruction efforts versus buying influence in the Kabul government.
The fuel ban, however, comes at a critical time for Afghanistan, which has little crude oil and no refineries of its own. Over 50 percent of the imports come through Turkmenistan and the rest through Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Iran.
The country, mired in an almost 10-year-long war pitting NATO and Afghan forces against the Taliban and other militants, relies entirely on imported fuels — a key commodity during winter when temperatures sink well below freezing and houses built of mud, brick or concrete offer little in the way of warmth.
Shinwari and other officials said that the ban also halted Afghanistan-bound fuel trucks coming from Iraq to Iran.
The ban has already had an impact on the local market.
Nimroz province Chamber of Commerce head Hobidullah said that in the past few days, wholesale prices for a ton of fuel have shot up from $900 to $1,200 while the price of gasoline has increased 25 percent per liter, climbing to 50 Afghanis ($1.10 per liter).
"This is private fuel and gas," said Hobidullah, who like many Afghans goes by one name. "This is not headed for the coalition (forces)."
Hobidullah said that between 1,500 to 1,700 fuel trucks have been stuck at the border in Iran for the past 18 days near the border with Nimroz province.
Customs officials in Nimroz say that between 30 to 35 trucks per day are being allowed through the border with the province, but those mainly carry construction items and foodstuff.
Iran "only stopped the gas and fuel trucks," said Alhamuddin Mazhar, the head of the Afghan customs office in Nimroz, adding that they have also repeatedly asked for an explanation but have been told only that the orders came from "Iranian police and intelligence."
"The people are concerned because we are getting close to winter and they need the fuel for heating," he said.
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AP Business Writer Tarek El-Tablawy contributed to this report from Kabul.
