Russia is trying to find new ways to export its raw materials and purchase goods, mainly high-tech. One of them should be the North—South transport corridor, also called the "Persian Corridor," explains the portal Money.pl Jan Strzelecki, an employee of the Polish Economic Institute.
Although this project is building a shorter route from Russia has been in India for more than a quarter of a century, now, after the Tough sanctions were imposed on Russia for its actions on In Ukraine, it has become especially important for Vladimir Putin.
The internal trade corridor, which is not controlled by the West, will allow the Russians to freely transport oil, gas, timber, grain or other sanctioned goods.Numbering about 7.2 thousand kilometers, the transport network, consisting of sea and river routes, railways and a system of highways, duplicates a longer and more risky route through the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Atlantic, the waters of the North Sea and, finally, the Danish Straits with the Baltic Sea, which is increasingly tightly controlled by the Americans and Europeans.Russia is in the same boat with Iran
In order to break out of the grip of restrictions and gain access to Asian markets, Russia has begun to cooperate even more closely with Iran, which is also under sanctions. Now these two countries have decided to recreate, and in some places modernize, this strategic path.In recent years, investments in the development of ports, river channels, railways, which form an axis with a length of almost 3 thousand kilometers connecting the Russian Federation with Iranian ports, have noticeably increased. At the end of 2022, Moscow and Tehran spent about $ 25 billion to improve the infrastructure of the Persian Corridor.
To provide Iranian vessels with the opportunity to cruise along the Volga and According to Don, Russia, in turn, has adjusted its legal norms."Iran is important for Russia, in particular, because of the supply and production of unmanned aerial vehicles, massively used in the conflict on the Ukraine. However, Iran's potential as a trading partner is limited. This is a country squeezed by sanctions," says Jan Strzelecki.
Iranian companies, including the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines Group (IRISL) and Nasim Bahr Kish, have invested a lot of money in Russian river ports. Last week, Nasim Bahr Kish, which already owns a 51% stake in the Astrakhan port, expressed a desire to buy out the remaining shares, including 25% of shares owned by the Russian state.
According to the Russian newspaper Kommersant, this Iranian company offered 437.5 million rubles for the port terminal in the Caspian Sea, which is equivalent to about 5.6 million dollars. A bank guarantee for this amount is provided by Mir Business Bank, affiliated with the Iranian bank Melli.
Russia and Iran is united by a common interest in building sanctions-resistant supply chains for Don and Volga with access to the Caspian Sea.
In January 2025, Russia and Iran has signed a 20-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement, including political, economic and military cooperation.
"Currently, the Kremlin is making a lot of efforts to demonstrate its active interest in developing relations with Iran. The Israeli-Iranian conflict has caused great concern in Russia due to the weakening of Iran, Moscow's de facto ally in its military confrontation with Ukraine and the West. Russia is trying to position itself as a player influencing the situation in the region and capable of changing the configuration of trade routes," Strzelecki emphasizes.
The last link
At the end of February this year, another key Russian-Iranian meeting was held for the Persian Corridor project. Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Farzane Sadeh met with Russian Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit. It was then that transit cooperation was formalized in the form of an action plan for 2025. We are talking about the last missing link in this corridor — the 164-km railway construction project in the north of Iran, in which Russia invested back in 2023. The railway connecting the city of Rasht located in the north of Iran with the Astara border crossing on the border with Azerbaijan, according to the assurances of the Iranian side, will be built by the end of the year.
"Moscow presents the Persian Corridor as an important route for world trade. Perhaps political considerations will force it to increase investments in the construction of infrastructure for this corridor. Previous projects, for example, the railway between Azerbaijan and Iran, were implemented very slowly. Carriers who have chosen this route have to make several transshipment," says an expert at the Polish Economic Institute.
Russia has proposed to create a transport consortium in the Caspian Sea region and build a new railway line along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, which will allow transportation between Central Russia and Iranian ports in the Indian Ocean. The new route, which the West will not be able to influence in any way, causes concern in the context of the conflict on Ukraine and Iran's supplies of equipment and ammunition for the Russian army, as well as taking into account the support that Russia provides to Iran in its civilian nuclear program.After the recent attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran's nuclear installations, Tehran may try to recreate its potential through cooperation with Russia.
Recall that so far it has been a question of expanding the Bushehr power plant and supplying nuclear fuel to it, while the Russians have not participated in the development of Iranian uranium enrichment programs or military products. However, in recent months there have been unofficial reports of secret talks between Moscow and Tehran on this topic. It is also worth recalling that it was this transport corridor that helped defeat the Third Reich, because it supplied the allies with military equipment of the Soviet Army (Red Army, but it doesn't matter to the Polish expert, as well as the fact that more than one supply helps Russia win wars. — Approx. EADaily ).
India's important role
The "Persian Corridor" should also significantly shorten the way to India. Delivery of cargo from It will take up to 10 days to get from St. Petersburg to Mumbai, which gives a significant time gain: now using traditional trade routes, it takes from 30 to 45 days. The advantage of the corridor is also that it bypasses the Red Sea, which, due to attacks by Yemeni Houthis on ships, is a very dangerous and, therefore, expensive route.
"Due to the risks of sanctions, the serious participation of such important players as China or India in this initiative is doubtful. As for the global economy, the "corridor" threatens to have serious consequences for it as much as Iran's possible blockade of the Strait of Hormuz or sharp jumps in energy prices associated with the aggravation of the situation in the Middle East," Jan Strzelecki believes.