Foreign Ministry Working to Address Problems of Iranian Truck Drivers Abroad

Asked by reporters about a viral video showing the Iranian trucks stranded at the borders of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, Seyed Abbas Mousavi said on Sunday, “In the wake of the outbreak of coronavirus in the world, Europe has now emerged as an epicenter of the disease, and strict regulations have been introduced along the borders of the European countries, which also apply to the European citizens.”

“Considering such circumstances, our Embassies in Europe and in all regional countries and neighbors have been active and on the alert since a month ago, and have even presented experts with definite telephone numbers (to answer the calls) round the clock to pursue the cases,” the Foreign Ministry’s official website quoted him as saying.

“Specifically about those trucks, consultations have been in progress both at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters and at the Embassies until this morning immediately after receiving information about their (trucks’) exact location, and consultations have been made with the customs authorities of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey to facilitate the movement of them (the trucks),” Mousavi said.

“In addition, queues of trucks belonging to various countries have been formed for kilometers at the border crossings of those countries,” he added.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mohammad Javad Zarif) has also talked about this subject specifically in his telephone conversations, including with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria on March 20,” Mousavi added.

The spokesperson finally advised the Iranian truck drivers traveling to the other countries to immediately call the Iranian Embassies in case they encounter an abnormal situation -not if they are stranded in long queues at the customs of the other countries as part of ordinary bureaucracy.