Turkey and Iran have closed their roads to each other's trucks, a Turkish official told the Russian RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday, October 7.

The move comes amid mounting tensions between Iran and Azerbaijan and the former's decision to close its airspace to Azeri military planes flying to Nakhijevan.

Ozcan Alas, the head of the Turkish Association for the Development of Trade with Iran, said Turkey made a decision to halt entry of Iranian trucks into Turkey in retaliation for a similar decision from Iran earlier.

“The trade turnover between Iran and Turkey has been completely suspended due to the tense situation on the border between Iran and Azerbaijan,” Alas reportedly said.

He maintained that the situation could negatively impact trade between Turkey and Iran, which has already plummeted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tension has been high between Iran and Azerbaijan, which share a 700km (430 mile) border, since mid-September. Iran’s army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have recently mobilized forces and held military drills close to its northwestern borders with Azerbaijan amid lingering tensions following Azerbaijan’s 44-day war with Armenia last year. Azerbaijan and Turkey, in response, launched a joint military drill starting on Wednesday.