The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of domestic investment on the export performance of Iran’s Special Economic Zones, with an emphasis on the moderating role of logistics infrastructure. To this end, balanced panel data for 32 Special Economic Zones over the period 2014–2024 were used, and the research model was estimated through a panel data approach using the fixed effects method. Its moderating role is tested through the interaction terms between rial- and foreign-currency-denominated domestic investment and the logistics index. The empirical findings indicate that rial- and foreign-currency-denominated domestic investment have a negative and significant effect on exports in the absence of adequate logistics infrastructure; however, their interaction effects with logistics infrastructure are positive and significant, with coefficients of 97.98 and 32.41, respectively. This finding suggests that logistics infrastructure is a key prerequisite for transforming domestic investment into effective export capacity in Special Economic Zones. In addition, imports, with a coefficient of 0.72, average firm size, with a coefficient of 1.39, and the real exchange rate, with a coefficient of 0.0047, have positive and significant effects on exports. The adjusted coefficient of determination is 0.83, indicating that the estimated model has strong explanatory power in explaining variations in exports across Special Economic Zones. Overall, the results suggest that increasing domestic investment without the simultaneous development of logistics infrastructure does not necessarily lead to improved export performance. Therefore, export-oriented policymaking in Special Economic Zones should focus on the simultaneous linkage between investment, transportation, warehousing, and logistics connectivity.