TEHRAN – Iran’s foreign minister called for removing domestic barriers to exports and improving trade infrastructure at a meeting with private sector representatives in Isfahan, highlighting the province’s economic capacity as a driver of the country’s economic diplomacy.

Speaking at a session hosted by the Isfahan Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Abbas Araghchi said entrepreneurship and earning foreign currency under current conditions require courage, adding that the Foreign Ministry’s role is to facilitate external relations and help resolve money transfer challenges.

“Successful exports are only possible through direct links between economic operators and target markets, alongside the removal of operational obstacles,” Araghchi said, according to a statement from the chamber.

He said Isfahan has identified six priority trading partners and that the ministry’s task is to connect those markets with local businesses. He pointed to provincial trade events attended by foreign ambassadors as platforms enabling direct engagement between traders and helping identify practical needs.

Araghchi said exporters were not seeking the removal of sanctions but instead called for solutions to operational issues involving customs, taxation, the agriculture and industry ministries, and the central bank. He criticized customs procedures, saying border crossings had become points of delay rather than transit, with clearance taking days or months compared with minutes in other countries.

Internal restrictions, biggest hurdle to exports

Isfahan Chamber head Amir Kashani said domestic restrictions, not external sanctions, were the main obstacle to exports.

He said exporters—particularly in carpets and small and medium-sized enterprises—face banking and regulatory hurdles that prevent full use of export capacity.

Kashani called for reduced government intervention, greater trust in private sector decision-making and reforms to improve economic freedom, including regional initiatives, to unlock export growth.

EF/MA