live U.S.-Iran standoff continues as Hormuz shipping and diplomacy remain uncertain
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to res...
Iran's Minister of Road and Urban Development Farzaneh Sadegh has said that Iran and Russia are scheduled to sign a railway agreement next month in Moscow.
The contract borders on the construction of Rasht-Astara railway and to complete integration of railways of Azerbaijan, India, Iran, and Russia.
Speaking during the launching of a road development project in central Iran on Sunday, the minister said the final agreement on signing the Rasht-Astara railway construction project in Iran’s Caspian Province of Guilan was reached during her visit to neighboring Azerbaijan earlier this month.
“The trilateral meeting in Baku on transport and cargo transportation between Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia was an important event that focused on completion of the North-South Corridor,” she said.
The Astara–Rasht railway is the missing link of the 7,200-km long International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that will link railways of Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia and India.
It will be 162 kilometers long consisting of 56 bridges and 35 overpasses.
Meanwhile the deputy Minister of Road and Urban Development Houshang Bazvand has announced Russia’s agreement to finance the railway project worth 1.6 billion dollars.
“Russia has agreed to provide Iran with $1.6 billion in low-cost facilities, with a 3% interest rate for the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Neighboring Azerbaijan and Iran are two key hubs of the INSTC multi-modal transport network.
It is intended to move freight between Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Europe, India, Iran, and Russia by increasing connectivity between Mumbai, Bandar Abbas, Bandar Anzali, Baku, Astarakhan and Moscow.
Following the Iranian minister’s visit to Baku in October to take part in the tri-lateral meeting, Sadegh said that both countries reviewed the progress of joint transport and transit projects and agreed on organising goods transportation at the border via rail and road.
“Progress of the joint infrastructure projects demonstrates Baku and Tehran’s firm determination to advance their shared development objectives,” said Sadegh who is the co-chairperson of the Azerbaijan-Iran Joint Economic Cooperation Commission.
The collective-defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signals that regional powers no longer want to rely solely on external security guarantees. Whether it becomes a stabilising deterrent or another axis of rivalry remains unresolved.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
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