Karachi, Pakistan \u2014<\/strong> At Karachi port, the largest in Pakistan, 3,000 stranded containers hold cargo that was meant to be shipped to Iran. What\u2019s in them is not known.<\/p>\n But the vessels that were supposed to collect them have not arrived \u2014 and with tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalating, there is no clarity on when those ships might finally be able to reach Karachi.<\/p>\n This disruption is part of a wider pressure strategy shaped under President Donald Trump \u2013 one that analysts say is designed not to halt trade completely, but to control it.<\/p>\n \u201cIran is collapsing financially,\u201d Trump wrote on Thursday on Truth Social. \u201cThey want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately- Starving for cash!\u201d<\/p>\n For the first six weeks of the US-Israel war on Iran that began on February 28, Tehran imposed an access system to control which ships transited the strait while also earning toll payments.<\/p>\n But since April 13, the Trump administration has imposed its naval blockade that has effectively stopped ships sailing through the strait that either left or were destined for Iranian ports.<\/p>\n The US naval blockade didn\u2019t just hurt Iranian exports \u2013 the Trump administration effectively controls Iran\u2019s ability to import goods it desperately needs. Analysts say, in some ways, that economic chokehold could exert even more pressure on Iran than the American military might.<\/p>\n \u201c[Iran\u2019s] storage reservoirs would fill quickly, some estimates suggest within a few weeks, forcing production shut-ins,\u201d finance and policy analyst Javed Hassan, an adviser to the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cExport revenues, the state\u2019s fiscal lifeline, would contract sharply. And while Iran has improved domestic agricultural capacity, its food security still depends in part on imports and foreign exchange, another channel of pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n But, Hassan cautioned, Iran has also built \u201cresilient architecture\u201d during decades of surviving US-led sanctions. It already has millions of barrels of oil \u2014 some estimates suggest up to 170 million barrels \u2014 that are on tankers already out at sea, well beyond the Gulf of Oman. That could \u201csustain export revenues for a couple of months\u201d.<\/p>\n Equally important, Hassan said, are overland and inland sea corridors that Iran can use \u2013 and already is using, \u00a0according to some reports. Some run through Central Asia and the Caucasus.<\/p>\n Iranian officials have also asked Pakistani counterparts for help in designing an alternative route for their goods.<\/p>\n Documents shared between Pakistani industry leaders and government officials, and seen by Al Jazeera, show that Iranian and Pakistani business and industry leaders are discussing the possibility of a land route to send the stranded containers across the 900km border between the neighbours.<\/p>\n Pakistani officials confirmed the consultations, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject and because the idea, for now, is just that: a possible answer to ease Karachi\u2019s burden of hosting thousands of Iran-bound containers.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera has contacted the Iranian government for comment, but did not receive a response when this article was written.<\/p>\n If the plan materialises, Pakistani trucks will carry the cargo to the border, then Iranian transport would take over.<\/p>\n The documents seen by Al Jazeera, suggest that Iran would even be willing to pay Pakistani truckers extra if they were willing to go all the way to the eventual destination inside the Islamic Republic, despite the land route being slower and more expensive than shipping.<\/p>\n The status of the Strait of Hormuz is unclear. Officially, it is not closed. Since imposing restrictions on transit in early March, Iran has allowed passage to ships from countries seen as aligned with it \u2014 including Pakistan, Malaysia and Iraq \u2014 without paying transit fees, often after quiet diplomatic engagement.<\/p>\n Others, including vessels from India, have also been allowed through, but under conditions such as detailed documentation and prior clearance.<\/p>\n But in at least some cases,\u00a0payments have been made, according to Lloyd\u2019s List. The shipping journal says by late March, at least some of the ships paid in Chinese Yuan, settling their deal with Iran outside the US dollar system. Some reports have suggested that Iran has charged up to $2m for each vessel. Some payments have been made in cryptocurrencies. Iran already has barter agreements with multiple countries, including Russia, China, and Pakistan, bypassing sanctions and the dollar tracking system.<\/p>\n Hamidreza Haji-Babaei, second deputy speaker of Iran\u2019s parliament, said on Thursday that the first revenue from tolls collected on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz had been deposited into the Central Bank of Iran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Iranian state media and government officials have not confirmed the amount deposited, but it was the first official confirmation from Iran of shipping toll collection.<\/p>\n But there are other ships that remain stuck. Vessels linked to the United States, Israel, or countries enforcing sanctions are denied outright by Iran\u2019s Hormuz-control regime.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s a cost, say analysts and experts, that goes beyond the toll.<\/p>\n According to Mohammed Rajpar, chairman of Pakistan Ship\u2019s Agents Association, the cost of insurance has soared since the start of the war.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore the conflict, war-risk insurance stood at around 0.12 percent of a vessel\u2019s value. It has since climbed to roughly 5 percent \u2013 if coverage is available at all,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cFor a very large crude carrier valued at $100 million, that means a premium of about $5 million for a single transit.\u201d<\/p>\n That \u201ccalculation still works\u201d, he explained, for oil carriers. A very large crude carrier (VLCC) can carry up to two million barrels of crude \u2013 worth around $200m.<\/p>\n \u201cEven with higher premiums and transit costs, the margins can absorb it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But for container shipping, the picture is less clear. Cargo values can be high. But margins are tighter. Ownership is fragmented. And timelines are fixed \u2013 goods expire.<\/p>\n So while crude flows selectively for those who can pay the combined cost \u2013 if their ship has the correct flag \u2013 everything else waits or gets rerouted.<\/p>\n Jamil Ahmed Khan, a former Pakistani ambassador, said the constraints imposed by the US naval blockade would hurt Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cIran remains significantly dependent on oil revenue, which cannot be fully realised when key export routes \u2014 particularly maritime ports \u2014 are restricted or disrupted,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cSuch constraints directly impact the country\u2019s foreign exchange earnings and overall economic stability\u201d.<\/p>\n Iran also relies on imports of refined fuel and food grains. \u201cThis reliance makes the country vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and external pressures,\u201d he said. \u201cThese economic and structural dependencies could contribute to rising public frustration, particularly if shortages or inflation intensify\u201d.<\/p>\n Yet Hassan of the \u00a0CRSS warned against looking at the impact of the naval blockade on Iran only through the lens of a \u201cstandard cost-benefit world\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a leadership perceives an existential threat, economic rationality as we define it in peacetime loses primacy. Endurance becomes the objective function. Iranian decision-making reflects this logic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey could plausibly keep the strait disrupted for longer than many assume, precisely because the calculus is not marginal but existential. There is a long tradition in such conflicts captured in a stark formulation often attributed to Ho Chi Minh: you may inflict greater losses, but the side that endures longer prevails. That mindset matters\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Karachi, Pakistan \u2014 At Karachi port, the largest in Pakistan, 3,000 stranded containers hold cargo that was meant to be shipped to Iran. What\u2019s in them is not known. But the vessels that were supposed to collect them have not arrived \u2014 and with tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalating, there is no clarity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Pakistani](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2025-06-19T110630Z_1359492964_RC2M5FAD2MEA_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-NUCLEAR-PAKISTAN-1777028037.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C514&quality=80\")
A land route?<\/h2>\n
![\"BANDAR](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/getty_69e96cf34e-1776905459.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80\")
A strait that\u2019s neither open nor closed<\/h2>\n
![\"Shipping](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2025-07-31T074548Z_319089514_RC2JXFAPHKRZ_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-TRADE-PAKISTAN-1-1777028225.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80\")
Cost of risk<\/h2>\n
![\"epaselect](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/epa_69eb1e01b8e7-1777016321.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C508&quality=80\")
Iran\u2019s calculation<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"