Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said Sunday that disruption to cross-border trade between the two countries was mainly due to changes in Islamabad’s import rules, rejecting reports that Iran had reduced LPG exports to Pakistan.

In a post on his X account, Amiri Moghadam clarified that “there are currently no restrictions on the Iranian side on the export of Iranian goods to Pakistan, including LPG,” adding that “Iran's borders with all its neighboring countries remain open.”

He said it would be “neither logical nor in the interests of either side for Iran to close its borders to its immediate neighbors, particularly brotherly Pakistan.”

The ambassador blamed the trade disruption on “changes in the implementation of Pakistan's E-Form procedure for imports from Iran,” which he said, “have created a situation in which traders are effectively and literally unable to dispatch cargo from Iran to Pakistan.”

Consultations with the Pakistani side are underway to address the issue, he added.

Several hundred trucks carrying LPG have crossed the Rimdan border into Gabd on the Pakistani side, but despite remaining there for several weeks, “these trucks have yet to be unloaded or cleared, further complicating the movement of goods and the smooth flow of bilateral trade,” Amiri Moghadam said.

He emphasized that cross-border trade between Iran and Pakistan “is an integral part of the bilateral agreements reached at the highest levels" and "serves the mutual interests of both countries and their people.”

Iran has made every possible effort to facilitate and promote this essential bilateral trade, he said.

“We remain committed to continuing these efforts in close coordination with our Pakistani counterparts to overcome existing challenges, facilitate the movement of goods, and strengthen economic cooperation between our two brotherly countries,” the ambassador said.

His remarks came as Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported Sunday that the Gabd-Rimdan border crossing, also known as Gate 250, in the country's Gwadar region, had reopened a day earlier following a weeklong suspension that began on October 17.

The report quoted Mir Naveed Jan Kalmati, president of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as saying that import and export operations between Pakistan and Iran had resumed.

It said the decision came amid dwindling LPG supplies in Pakistan ahead of the winter season.

The closure of the border crossing left hundreds of trucks stranded on both sides of the border.

An attack was also reported in the region earlier this week, when unidentified gunmen targeted parked trucks, setting dozens ablaze and damaging several others.

Dawn said local administrators had deployed additional forces to protect trade convoys before reopening the border crossing.