Washington: Russia is supplying Iran with drone components and commercial goods through the Caspian Sea, creating a critical trade corridor as Tehran faces a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the New York Times reported.
U.S. officials said shipments could help Iran rebuild its drone arsenal, which lost roughly 60 per cent of its stock during recent U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Iranian authorities also rerouted food imports, including wheat, corn and cooking oil, through Caspian ports such as Bandar Anzali, which operate around the clock to sustain commerce and military supplies.
Experts said the Caspian route offers strategic advantages. Paris’ Sciences Po professor Nicole Grajewski called it “ideal for sanction evasion and military transfers,” while Hudson Institute fellow Luke Coffey described it as a “geopolitical black hole” for U.S. military oversight.
The trade leverages the International North-South Transport Corridor and bypasses U.S. interdiction. Ships regularly turn off tracking, and only the five littoral states, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, have access.
Read: US Iran Ceasefire Tested by Hormuz Exchange
In mid-March, Israel struck Iranian naval assets at Bandar Anzali and elsewhere on the Caspian, but the route remains operational, enabling Iran to sustain imports despite Hormuz tensions.
