[77422] Confusion surrounding traffic permits for vehicles with free zone license plates in Iran

Media chaos surrounding the travel permit for vehicles from free zones

Over the past day, there has been significant public confusion on social media in Iran following contradictory reports regarding the right of vehicle owners with 'free zone' license plates (such as Kish, Qeshm, Arvand, Chabahar, and Maku) to move freely on Iran's roads.

On one hand, several channels, including the IRNA News Agency affiliated with the government, as well as channels like Hamian-e Pezeshkian and Khorasan Online, published an announcement attributed to the Deputy Chief of Police, Sardar Hosseini. According to this announcement, "the traffic permit for these vehicles across the country is valid" and will continue until "the situation in the country returns to full normalcy," claiming that this is an administrative decision due to special conditions resulting from the security situation.

On the other hand, the Traffic Police (Rahvar) issued firm denials through several channels such as Tabriz Khabarlary and Khabari Plus. These sources claim that "the report on lifting restrictions is incorrect" and that the document circulated to confirm this is "fake." According to the police, the previous strict regulations on free zone vehicles remain in place.

The contradictory reports have created significant frustration among the public, with economic channels such as Akhbar Rooz Eghtesadi noting that the confusion is causing financial losses for vehicle owners who were forced to spend large sums to adapt their vehicles to the national standard. As of now, there is still no unified official announcement from the police website that resolves the contradiction between the government reports and the police denials.