Iran–China rail and sea status: October 2026

Status as of 8 October 2026. This note records what is moving between China and Iran and what is not, with a dated source for each point. For how the routes work, see our guide to China–Iran freight routes.

Is rail freight between China and Iran running?

Operating. China–Iran container trains via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan were operating at the most recent report (11 September 2026), and existing services were reported to take about 14–18 days (Asia-Plus). Rail services can be interrupted at short notice; confirm the route is running before you book.

• New routing via Uzbekistan. The first block train from China to Iran via Uzbekistan left Altynkol on 7 September 2026 with 55 containers, bound for Sarakhs. The operator planned 14–16 days. No arrival report had been published by 8 October 2026.
• Congestion. The Khorgos crossing on the China–Kazakhstan border, where containers are lifted between wagons at the first gauge change, is “heavily congested across both rail and road” (RailFreight.com, 22 June 2026).
• Frequency. The latest public figure dates from June 2026: China–Iran trains via Kazakhstan had gone from about one a week to one every three to four days since April 2026 (The Diplomat, citing Bloomberg). No later figure from an official or operator source was found.

Is the sea route to Iranian ports open?

Disrupted. Iranian ports, including those on the Gulf of Oman, have been under a US naval blockade since 14 July 2026, and ships bound to or from them are being redirected. Most major container lines are not routing through the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command first announced the blockade on 12 April 2026; it was lifted in June and reinstated from 14 July 2026. On 30 September 2026 Lloyd’s List Intelligence reported that Central Command counted 122 merchant vessels redirected under the blockade, and that “major lines continue to avoid the area”.

In the same brief, Lloyd’s List Intelligence counted 15 container-ship transits of the Strait by non-Iranian-linked vessels so far in September, nearly double the August number. The growth came from feeder vessels on short regional services.

How busy is Shahid Rajaee port?

Port calls at Shahid Rajaee, the container port at Bandar Abbas, averaged about 0.7 a day in September 2026, against about 2.7 a day in the year before March 2026 (IMF PortWatch, satellite ship-tracking data to 2 October 2026). Calls on 1–2 October averaged 1.0 a day.

Ship-tracking (AIS) counts miss ships that sail with their transponders off, so treat these figures as indicators. No confirmed October 2026 report from Iran’s port or customs authorities on operations at the port was found.

Are Iran’s Caspian ports in use?

Iran’s Caspian ports took some cargo from China in 2026, with limited capacity. In September 2026 the head of the Mazandaran free zone said cargo from China via Kazakhstan had recently entered Amirabad port (Tehran Times, 16 September 2026).

In June 2026 Kazakhstan offered Iran port space, berths and terminals at Aktau and Kuryk. Trans-Caspian shipping is constrained by “a shortage of vessels and falling sea levels” (The Diplomat, 24 June 2026).

What this means for you

Before you plan a shipment, check these points:

• Rail crossing: whether the train enters Iran at Incheh Borun or Sarakhs, and the current wait at Khorgos–Altynkol.
• Space and time: space on the train and the operator’s current transit time; the reported 14–18 days is not a timetable.
• Documents: that the consignment note and other documents match the route; see our guide to shipping documents for Iran–China trade.
• Sea: the latest Lloyd’s List Intelligence Hormuz brief and carrier advisories before planning any sea leg.
• Caspian: vessel availability and the draught limit at the Iranian port.

This note is replaced when the status changes; the trade desk shows the current status.