The North–South Corridor Project (Iran–Russia) and the Strategic Importance of Chabahar Port
On May 13, 2024, Chabahar Port officially entered the implementation phase with the signing of a $380 million agreement between Iran and India, marking the beginning of this strategic project.
Tehran has sought to advance this project based on trade and economics, deliberately keeping it outside the sphere of political disputes. However, the rivalry between India and China, coupled with the U.S. presence in Pakistan, consistently hindered full clarity of the project.
Today, with the cooperation agreement between India and China, the situation in Iranian Balochistan has become clearer than ever. Conversely, Pakistani Balochistan remains contested; to date, neither of the two Asian powers has been able to invest there with certainty.
The U.S. presence in Pakistan served as the main deterrent, effectively rendering the project incomplete without Pakistan’s participation. The port of Gwadar carries a weight equal to that of Chabahar, and any neglect of it would distort regional equations.
Now, with Washington’s position in Pakistan, Islamabad is left high and dry and confused. As it may have to align itself with India, China, and Iran. This inevitably alters the geopolitical dynamics, regardless of whether the government in Islamabad chooses to acknowledge it or not.
At the same time, it must not be overlooked that the Balochistan project is of strategic significance for Moscow as well. Russia and Iran initiated the North–South Corridor project in early 2020, an extensive, costly, and vital undertaking under which more than 20 memoranda of understanding, covering 20 years, have already been signed between the two countries.
And now, the highly critical issue of the snapback mechanism and Europe’s pressures on Iran through Trump, while safeguarding itself on the battlefield of Ukraine. Let’s see how that shapes up.
For now India, Russia and China are pushing for Gas from Iran and use of Chabahar. Pakistan is the only country limping on the issue.
China must force Pakistan to come out clean.
