Iran’s Trade with Six Arab Countries Having Severed Ties

A recent table, published by Iran’s Mehr News Agency, shows Iran’s trade with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Djibouti, and Kuwait in the first eight months of the current Persian calendar year (March 21 to November 21, 2015) and the last Persian calendar year (started on March 21, 2014) after a diplomatic row between Iran and Saudi Arabia and its allies over the execution of Shiite prominent cleric and activist Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

After political developments between the two oil-rich Middle East powers in recent days, the Saudis severed diplomatic and commercial ties with Iran. Saudi allies in the region were pressed to follow suit in taking hostile measures against Iran. Bahrain and North Sudan cut relations with Iran while the UAE downgraded its ties with Iran to charge d’affaires level. Djibouti also published a statement highly critical of Iran. Kuwait reportedly recalled its ambassador in Iran.

However, a glance at Iran’s commerce with the six Arab countries in the first eight months of the current Persian calendar year (March 21 to November 21, 2015) demonstrates that Iran’s imports from Djibouti barely amounts to more than $22 thousand in the period against exports worth more than $13 million.

In the same period, Iran’s imports from Sudan were over $37 million while Iran’s exports to Sudan have been reportedly around $180 thousand.

According to figures published by the Iranian Customs, trade between Iran and Saudi Arabia has reached $172 million in the first eight months of the Persian calendar year. Figures show Iran has imported $40.2 million from Saudi Arabia while its exports to the country surpassed $132.2 million.

Iran imported more than $66.4 million worth of goods from Bahrain while its exports to the country were reported to be worth $6.3 million.

Trade balance between Iran and the UAE shows $6.7 billion and $3.4 billion respectively for Iran’s imports from and exports to the UAE.

Given the implementation of the JCOPA in the following weeks, as the Iranian officials have promised, some Arab countries have lost the opportunity to trade with Iran and other Asian or European countries can make up for their shares in trade with Iran after the sanctions are lifted.