A trucking war has escalated between Turkey and Iran amid mutual retaliation and the latest round of talks in Tehran failing to produce a compromise. The two neighbors’ commercial rivalry, particularly for the Central Asian market, has further intensified with the trucking crisis. Thousands of Turkish trucks have been stranded on Turkey's side of the Gurbulak border crossing, waiting to enter Iran. Similarly, Turkish trucks returning home have formed long lines at Iran’s border crossing with Turkmenistan.

The truck transportation crisis began last year when Turkey made it clear it would no longer pay transit fees and a fee for the fuel price difference charged by Iran. Turkish exporters and transporters shipping goods to Central Asian countries prefer the Iranian route, because it is the shortest. Turkish trucking companies, however, are disadvantaged vis-a-vis their Iranian counterparts because of special charges and high tariffs that Iran levies only on Turkish trucks.

In the wake of the Soviet Union’s disintegration, the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia and Uzbekistan have gained strategic importance for Turkey in both economic and political terms. The region has emerged as a sphere of political influence for Ankara as well as a trade market of huge potential with the Central Asian states' adoption of market economies. Last year, Turkey’s total trade volume with the region totaled $9.3 billion. Turkish contractors worked on projects worth $62 billion, Turkish direct investment exceeded $3.5 billion, and some 2,000 Turkish companies operated in Central Asian countries.

Hence, the trucking war between Turkey and Iran stems from a rivalry for political and economic influence in a regional market that is economically pristine and hungry for investment. In its nuclear talks with the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany, or P5+1, Iran hopes for a settlement that will put an end to all the sanctions against it. With this prospect in mind, it is seeking to advance a strategy aimed at increasing its clout in its neighborhood, namely, Central Asia and the Caucasus, and forestalling Turkey.