Iran turns to the Caspian Sea: Tehran seeks alternative trade routes as U.S. blockade paralyzes exports

With its southern ports under the U.S. naval blockade, Tehran is seeking alternatives to export its goods, Al Jazeera reports via its correspondent in Iran, Maziar Motamedi. Authorities aim to increase the transport of goods through the Caspian Sea in the north of the country.

The shift comes after diplomatic efforts at the UN to end the deadlock appear to have failed: U.S. President Donald Trump rejected the Iranian proposal for a seven-day path toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, saying Iran is seeking a deal because it is “losing badly.”

The war launched by the U.S. and Israel against Iran on February 28 has paralyzed Iranian maritime trade; almost a fifth of the world’s oil and gas that passed through Hormuz has been blocked since then. The Caspian Sea, surrounded by Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Iran, offers Iran’s only sea route uninterrupted by the blockade of the southern ports.

Experts say the reorientation northward will require major investments in Iran’s Caspian port infrastructure, but Tehran sees it as a long-term survival tool against Washington’s “economic war.”