Iran emphasises North-South transport corridor as strategic priority

The North-South Transport Corridor remains a top priority for Iran, according to Muhammad Ansalifar, an economic and agricultural expert and consultant to the Iranian Presidential Administration.

He discussed the project’s importance in an interview with Russia’s state television channel Rossiya 1.

The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multimodal trade route linking Russia’s St. Petersburg with India’s port city of Mumbai, stretching over 7,200 kilometres.

“We expect that once the Rasht–Astara section becomes operational, the North-South corridor will be fully opened. This is very important for us—it generates income and is expected to simplify the import of goods from the Russian Federation. There is also the East-West corridor, but our main priority is the North-South route,” Ansalifar said.

As part of the project, Iran has handed over to Russia around 34 kilometres of land allocated for the construction of the railway.

So far, Iranian authorities have purchased about half of the land needed for the 162-kilometre section of the track. 

According to Tehran, the government is working intensively to complete the acquisition of all necessary land plots by the third decade of 2026.

By Tamilla Hasanova