The Media Line: Iran, Russia Push To Fast-Track North-South Trade Corridor 

Iran, Russia Push To Fast-Track North-South Trade Corridor 

By The Media Line Staff 

Iran and Russia announced on Tuesday that they aim to expedite work on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a trade and transit network designed to facilitate the movement of goods between South Asia and Northern Europe through Iran, as Moscow and Tehran deepen their economic ties amid Western sanctions. 

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, met in Tehran with Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Transport Vitaly Savelyev to review what both sides described as steps needed to finish the corridor and move it toward full operations. 

Larijani said Iran is prepared to implement the project and plans to remove what he described as executive and institutional obstacles soon, while also finalizing agreements meant to lock in the corridor’s legal and administrative framework. Savelyev, according to IRNA, welcomed Iran’s approach and said Russia is ready to push the project into an operational phase. 

The INSTC is a multi-modal route—combining sea, rail, and road links—intended to shorten transport times compared with traditional routes via the Suez Canal and to expand regional connectivity across Iran, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Russia. For both Iran and Russia, the project also fits a broader push to build trade channels less dependent on Western-controlled logistics and financial systems. 

A key missing link remains the Rasht-Astara railway in northern Iran. Iran and Russia signed an executory contract in July 2023 for the construction of the roughly 162-kilometer line, which would connect the cities of Rasht and Astara near the border with Azerbaijan.