Middle East Regional Coordination Meeting Minutes, 09 April 2026

Content

1. Situation Update

A two-week ceasefire in Iran was announced on 8 April 2026; however, it remains unclear whether all parties to the ceasefire agree on the inclusion of Lebanon.  Regardless, the situation remains tense and unpredictable across the region. 

SHIPPING

• Shipping carriers have acknowleged the ceasefire; however, it does not provide full maritime certainty, and the safety of crew, vessels, and cargo remains the top priority.
• During the meeting, WFP shipping noted that short-term commercial transit may be possible through the Strait of Hormuz, pending confirmation. 
• Shipping carriers are maintaining a cautious approach with no service changes at this stage, as the situation remains fluid with limited visibility. 
• Carriers will advise directly should there be any operational or schedule impacts.
• Many carriers are avoiding through traffic via the Red Sea, though feeder vessels are still operating.

AIRSPACE RESTRICTIONS

• Airspace over Iraq and Syria has reopened.
• Airspace is closed in Iran, Kuwait, Israel, and Qatar. There are indications of Baharain airspace reopening; however at time of reporting, it remains closed.
• Airspace is operating with restrictions in Saudi Arabia, Oman (airspace remains open, although some international flight routes have been suspended), the UAE (Dubai airport resumed operations at 90% capacity), and Lebanon (airspace remains open and operating only Middle East Airlines flights).
• Charter flights are available for cargo movements on some routes ex. U.A.E. and across the region.
• Partners are encouraged to follow the latest NOTAM updates as the situation is evolving rapidly.
• Partners are requested to reach out in the event that they are unable to find charter flight availability or need alternate routing. Dubai Humanitarian and UNHRD are actively seeking opportunities and clearances to ensure the dispatch of humanitarian cargo ex. Dubai. 

PORT ACCESS

• Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Oman ports are operational​.
• UAE: Port operations are normal in Jebel Ali, Hamriya, and Sharjah Port, and Khalifa.
• Qatar: Hamad Port, Doha Port, and Al Ruwais Port are open though operating at lower levels than pre-conflict. Al Ruwais Port is restricted to small craft only.
• Bahrain: Vessel movements have resumed; however, operations remain limited. 
• “Green Corridor” between the UAE and Oman remains open as a multi-modal shipping lane for import of cargo into UAE through Oman (one way imports only).

FUEL

• Fuel price fluctuations remain highly volatile. Recent publicly available analysis on crude oil prices estimated the average cost will be USD $96/barrel this year, an increase from the prior forecast of USD $78.84/barrel (a 22% increase). Both retail gasoline and diesel prices are predicted to continue rising. 

  After the ceasefire was announced, the price of crude oil dropped from USD $110 to $95/barrel. 

UNHRD

• UNHRD noted that partners have resumed some operations in the region, and reminded partners to provide information on their supply chain planning to better enable them to provide potential solutions.

2. Logistics Cluster Regional ConOps

• The Logistics Cluster is developing a regional concept of operations (conops) which will be shared with the mailing list and posted on the website once finalized. The Logistics Cluster will continue to provide the humanitarian community with logistics and information management services including: 
  • updates on the impacts of the situation on regional (primary) and broader (secondary) supply chain routes; 
  • analysis of logistics constraints, bottlenecks, and operational risks; 
  • regular regional information sharing and coordination; 
  • consolidated analysis of corridors, borders, and route visibility; 
• and regional information products to support operational decision-making.The ConOps will be kept updated and reflect the needs of the humanitarian community as the situation develops. 
• Country-level downstream logistics coordination and information management will continue to be provided at country operation Logistics Cluster meetings.

LogIE Update

• The Logistics Cluster is currently providing two layers of information displayed on LogIE: one showing physical access constraints and one demonstrating current supply routes. Both are regularly updated 
• The information on the supply route mapping is being further refined for visual clarity and secondary impacts.
• A Physical Access and Supply Route Snapshot ​will be shared with partners on a weekly basis, and will include an updated static supply route map with critical information, including lead time estimates, new alternate routes, routes no longer in use, secondary impact narratives (i.e. East Africa, etc.).
• Partners were reminded to leverage LogIE as a mapping tool to view status updates on logistics bottlenecks and alternative supply routes. 
• Partners were asked to continue to share information on supply routes (including passability, customs, lead times, etc.) for LogIE to remain updated, and to contact the Logistics Cluster as needed to request more information on using LogIE as a tool, and/or to request specific maps. 
• Partners can also directly export/download static maps as needed; and can reach out to middleeastcrisis.logscoord@wfp.org for more information or guidance.

3.  Country Clusters Updates

Updates were shared from the Logistics Cluster operations and working groups in the region.

AFGHANISTAN

Updates concerning key border crossing points in Afghanistan are as follows:​

• The Spin Boldak and Torkham border crossing points remain closed for commercial/cargo transport.​
• Reconstruction of the Uzbekistan Customs/Border Inspection Zone (Termez) is ongoing and is expected to be completed by 15 April 2026. The redesign aims to expand capacity to 8 inbound truck inspection lines.​

Railway transport initiatives include the following:

• A container shipment was conducted along the China – Kazakhstan – Uzbekistan – Termez railway with a 3.5 week lead time.
• A second container shipment was conducted along the China – Kyrgyzstan – Uzbekistan (Termez) – Tajikistan (Dushanbe) railway with a lead time of 18-20 days.
• As the inland Iran corridor (i.e. the “western corridor”) into Afghanistan has not been considered passable, alternate routing through the following two corridors has been used/planned:
  • The multi-modal "Lapis Lazuli" route via the Mersin, Turkey seaport with an onward overland route through Georgia – Azerbaijan – Turkmenistan and/or Uzbekistan into Afghanistan (via Torghundi, Termez, or other northern entry points);
  • Or the Northern Corridor overland route from the UAE into Saudi Arabia — Jordan —Syria — Turkey and onwards through the above outlined Lapis Lazuli route (the lead time for this entire route is estimated to be more than 42 days).

LEBANON

• Lebanon airspace is open, however only Middle East Airlines is operating out of Beirut Airport with a limited schedule and inreased prices.
• The Lebanon Logistics and Telecommunications Cluster (LTC) is coordinating across Syria, Jordan, and Turkey to understand and share information on upstream supply routes, fuel availability, assessing supply chain disruption risks, and preparing contingency plans for potential pipeline and route disruptions. This information will be shared with the Regional Cluster Cell to support LogIE mapping and analysis.
• The Cluster is also consolidating physical access information on border crossing conditions and operational constraints within Lebanon to support partner planning.
• Key updates on border crossing points (BCPs) with cargo handling capacity include:
  • Aridah and Abboudieh BCPs remain closed.
  • Masnaa/Jdeideh has reopened; initially food and medical cargo were prioritized, though it is now fully reopened.
• The Port of Beirut is fully operational and remains the main entry point for large volumes of cargo. 
• The Port of Tripoli is also fully functional and could be used as an alternate entry point if needed.
• Pending assessment, a key bridge into southern Lebanon has been damaged, which may eventually result in the supply route being obstructed. As a contingency planning measure, the cluster is assessing the capacity in the Port of Tyre. Though this is not currently part of partners’ operational planning, only a last resort measure should physical access be obstructed. 

SYRIA

• Turkey and Georgia are still the main sources for the importation of goods into Syria.
• Key updates on air transport include:
• On 8 April, the Syrian airspace reopened​. UNHAS flights are scheduled to resume on Monday, 13 April.
• Deir Ezzor and Qamishli airports are currently undergoing rehabilitation and are planned to reopen next month. ​
• As noted above, the Al Masnaa BCP with Lebanon has also reopened and has returned to normal cargo capacity.​
• The WFP Turkey country office are planning trials of commercial cargo shipments from Turkey through Syria and into Lebanon and will provide updates once complete.
• The Syria Logistics Sector circulated the Operational Analysis report on the implications of regional escalation for operations in Syria and presented to HCT members.​ 

3. Telecommunications Update 

IRAN: Internet connectivity remains inaccessible and unreliable. Some local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have begun partial restoration of services, however overall connectivity remains unstable and unreliable, with frequent interruptions.

LEBANON: The several assessments are being conducted within Lebanon to inform further Telecoms support to partners and action. 

​Afghanistan: No change reported. 

4. Partner Updates & Polls

Partners were provided with poll questions to inform Cluster Cell services and planning. The feedback gathered from partners included: 

• Most partners are not planning cargo transit through Iran at present, despite this formerly being the main transit for cargo into Afghanistan. 
• All respondents indicated that alternate routing of cargo supplies is ongoing and functioning, albeit with delays and additional costs. 
• Afghanistan humanitarian operations was reported as currently the most affected by the situation, followed by Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Sudan. 
• The greatest impact to humanitarian supply chain operations was reported as: increased cost, solution availability, increased lead times, cancellations/disruptions, and access. 
• Partners requested to keep the frequency of the Regional Coordination Meetings to weekly on Thursdays. An invitation will be sent out with the Minutes for the next meeting to be held on 16 April. 

Partners were reminded that pooling information is useful for combined advocacy efforts.

5. Any Other Business

• Partners were asked to notify the Logistics Cluster if they are unable to dispatch cargo currently positioned in the Gulf to enable a consolidated update on the impact of the crisis. A new survey link has been shared: https://ee-eu.kobotoolbox.org/x/c2qO3DaR    
• The upstream pipeline survey is still available for partners to share their operational plans: https://ee-eu.kobotoolbox.org/x/kXmev4sC
• All the documents and links related to the regional crisis can be found on the dedicated Logistics Cluster page which can be accessed from the home page of the website.

The next Middle East Regional Coordination Meeting will be held on 9 April 2026.

Contacts