Humanitarian organisations have begun transporting emergency aid overland into Iran after weeks of U.S.-Israeli strikes disrupted air and sea access. The IFRC sent about 200 trauma kits plus tents and blankets from Turkey, while the ICRC delivered five trucks from Jordan with nine more expected. Aid groups warn that medical and psychological needs are acute; current shipments aim to reach tens of thousands of displaced and affected people.
Humanitarian Groups Open New Overland Corridors to Send Emergency Aid Into Iran
A residential building damaged by a strike on March 4, in Tehran, Iran, April 14, 2026. REUTERS/Thaier Al Sudani
Geneva, April 14 — International humanitarian organisations have begun using newly opened overland routes to deliver emergency relief into Iran, marking some of the first aid shipments since U.S.-Israeli strikes began in late February.
Relief Deliveries Resume Over Land
Aid workers say needs across Iran are acute after six weeks of strikes, but many emergency supplies were stranded in Dubai warehouses when sea and air access was disrupted by the widening conflict. Iranian authorities report more than 3,000 deaths inside Iran, and the U.N. refugee agency estimates up to 3.2 million people have been displaced.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said it moved roughly 200 trauma kits along with tents and blankets on trucks using a newly opened corridor from Turkey. Those trucks crossed into Iran on Sunday and were expected to reach Tehran on Tuesday, IFRC spokesperson Tommaso Della Longa said.
"For us it is very important because it represents a new corridor for delivering aid into Iran, and we are optimistic about scaling up," Della Longa told a press briefing in Geneva.
ICRC, Iranian Red Crescent and Local Response
Separately, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported its first delivery to Iran since the conflict began: five trucks arrived from Jordan on Monday, with another nine expected later in the week. The ICRC transferred supplies to the Iranian Red Crescent, the only national society operating across the country; it has about 100,000 responders, four of whom have been killed during the fighting.
The ICRC shipments included basic household and shelter items — buckets, blankets and mattresses — intended to help roughly 25,000 people, including those displaced by the conflict. Aid organisations emphasised that medical supplies and psychological support are especially urgent.
"Needs are high, medical needs in particular, and the psychological toll on people is immense," Della Longa said, noting that Iranian Red Crescent teams have been providing psychological support in addition to rescue operations "literally digging people out of buildings."
Diplomatic Efforts
After weekend talks to end the war collapsed, sources told Reuters that negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran could return to Islamabad this week to seek a resumption of discussions.
Reporting by Emma Farge and Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Aidan Lewis.
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