Iran Tried to Outfox the US With Land Trade. It's Not Going Well.

Iran thought they’d try to outsmart the U.S. and our blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the administration’s Operation Economic Outcast, which is designed to break the Islamic Republic’s bank and cripple the terrorist regime.

We’ll conduct trade by land rather than by sea, they thought.

According to a new report, that plan isn’t working out so well. They have logistical problems and their own bloated bureaucracy to blame:

Hundreds of Iranian truck drivers are currently stuck at Iran’s border with Pakistan, unable to send their goods into Tehran’s neighbor. They say they are facing worsening bureaucratic hurdles and costs, many caused by their own government. The same thing is happening at Iran’s land borders with Turkey, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, dealing Tehran a self-inflicted blow and throttling trade through its few remaining economic release valves.

Whoops.

Since the U.S. reinstated its blockade, no Iranian crude cargoes have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz to China. Inventory cannot be replenished as crude piles up aboard vessels trapped inside the strait. Iran’s export lifeline is being cut off: stranded oil, finite… pic.twitter.com/isnCgq5V1T

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) September 4, 2026

Since the U.S. reinstated its blockade, no Iranian crude cargoes have successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz to China. Inventory cannot be replenished as crude piles up aboard vessels trapped inside the strait. Iran’s export lifeline is being cut off: stranded oil, finite storage, and rapidly shrinking revenue.

Their economy is literally rotting under the sanctions, the report claims.

Tons of stranded apricots have been spoiled because of the delays. Lucrative cargoes of iron ore, cement and bottled gas are stuck at entry points to the Pakistani and Afghan borders, truckers say.

“Neither Iran is taking responsibility for the situation, nor is Pakistan allowing us to unload our cargo,” one driver says in a video posted by the Union of Truckers and Drivers Organizations Across Iran over the weekend.

Goods aren’t getting in or out. This is from August, and it’s only gotten worse since:

🚨 Iran’s largest commercial port is nearly empty, a devastating sign that the Islamic Republic’s economic arteries are being choked.

Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas normally handles roughly 70–85% of Iran’s container traffic, with its roads and customs yards packed with… https://t.co/tT07F2sUW2 pic.twitter.com/uF4Gc8Qabj

— The Iran Watcher (@TheIranWatcher) August 23, 2026

🚨 Iran’s largest commercial port is nearly empty, a devastating sign that the Islamic Republic’s economic arteries are being choked.

Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas normally handles roughly 70–85% of Iran’s container traffic, with its roads and customs yards packed with trucks moving imports and exports across the country.

Now footage shows vast stretches of empty roads and yards with barely any commercial movement.

This is not just another struggling business or industry. It is Iran’s primary gateway for consumer goods, industrial inputs, food and other imports that feed directly into the domestic economy.

The consequences of prolonged disruption are severe: fewer imports, worsening shortages, higher prices and even greater pressure on an economy already being squeezed from multiple directions.

When the country’s largest commercial gateway starts looking like a ghost town, economic isolation is no longer an abstract statistic. It is becoming physically visible.

The sanctions are taking their toll, not just on the regime, but on the people. We thought Bidenflation was bad, but food inflation in Iran rose to 128 percent in August, according to their official statistics office.

I’ll give the Iranian leaders some credit: they’re stubborn as mules. Unfortunately for them, however, many of their attempts at outfoxing the United States simply aren’t working. 

Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are once again respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.

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