Jordan's Aqaba port has seen a surge in transit cargo as the US-Iran conflict has largely shut down commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, according to officials at the port and terminal data.
Before US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered a regional war in late February, the Strait of Hormuz was a critical route for global oil shipments and other trade. Since then, security risks have sharply reduced traffic through the waterway.
Traders have sought alternative routes, including via Syria, while Aqaba has also seen a boost.
"If we talk about container trade, we have grown easily by five per cent, and the growth is driven by the volumes, increased volumes to greater Levant and Iraq in particular," said Angshuman Mustafi, chief commercial officer at the Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT).
In a statement published in July, the ACT said transit volumes jumped 155.1 per cent in the first half of 2026 from the same period last year.
Port officials told Reuters that increased trucking to Iraq has been the main driver of the growth. Iraq previously imported consumer goods through its southern Persian Gulf port at Basra, but commercial traffic there has fallen sharply because of disruptions to shipping through Hormuz.
Containers are now unloaded at Aqaba and transported by truck to Iraq, around 760 kilometres to the east, port officials said.
"Thank God, there is now shipping activity. Before (the closure of) the Strait of Hormuz, we hardly had any work. We used to get one or two transport (orders) a month. Now, there is work — you get three, four, or five transport (orders)," said truck driver Moussa Abu Abdeh.
Mashhoor Al Jazy, spokesperson for the Jordan Shipping Association, said he hoped the increase in traffic would last.
"This could become a permanent route, and not just a temporary one. And this is what we want to see, how we can prove to the world that Aqaba's location should strategically remain on this route and has the right to stay on this route after the crisis ends," he told Reuters.
Iran has repeatedly struck military sites in Jordan, a close ally of Washington, in response to US attacks.
(Reporting by Jehad Shalbak. Additional reporting by Kinda Makieh. Writing by Kinda Makieh and Maya Gebeily. Editing by Mark Potter)