WANA (May 30) – The opening of the Iran-Pakistan overland corridor has broken the United Arab Emirates’ maritime monopoly on West Asian transit. By connecting to China’s $60 billion mega-project, this newly activated route successfully bypasses naval choke points in the Strait of Hormuz.

 

Iran’s new strategy to circumvent the Strait of Hormuz has officially launched on land. Operationalized under a 2008 bilateral road transport agreement, the newly opened corridor between Tehran and Islamabad now links six overland routes from key Pakistani ports—Gwadar, Karachi, and Port Qasim—to Iranian border crossings at Taftan and Gabd.

 

The primary objective of activating this corridor is to secure the north-south movement of goods, free from the threat of U.S. warships and maritime restrictions. According to a report by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), the corridor’s inaugural commercial cargo shipment has already successfully arrived in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

 

The defining turning point for this project is its integration with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Through its southeastern borders, Iran can now connect to a 3,000-kilometer network linking western China directly to the Indian Ocean.

 

Analysts note that this connection opens a fresh trade route for Tehran with Beijing and Central Asian nations, significantly easing the pressure of maritime sanctions.

 

On the other side, Pakistan is utilizing this corridor to move away from its reliance on the unstable transit route through Afghanistan. Islamabad, which has faced severe border tensions with Kabul in recent years, has now secured a direct and stable path to markets in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

 

Simultaneously, Iran is advancing the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, which has now surpassed 90% completion. Slated for launch by the end of spring 2026, this rail line forms a critical segment of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and is designed to link Iran’s southern ports directly to Russia and Central Asia.

 

Experts believe the combination of these two corridors—east-west and north-south—creates a logistics triangle that elevates Iran from a mere transit country to a dominant regional hub.

 

The major loser in this geopolitical shift is the United Arab Emirates. For years, Dubai and Abu Dhabi served as the primary hubs for transit and the re-export of goods to Iran and Central Asia.

 

They now face direct competition from a low-cost overland alternative. While experts emphasize that roads can never fully replace the volume capacity of cargo ships, these overland routes ensure that trade flows remain uninterrupted during crises and escalating military tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.