By:Javad Masoumi, Iranian researcher and analyst
Iran has always attached great importance to the development of its trade relations with neighboring countries through transit routes and has long been an important communication intermediary for the trade routes of the Silk Road to Europe. Therefore, in recent years, it has tried to regain its former role and position in rail corridors, and for this reason, it has focused on the development of rail networks with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries. Railway lines, with very strong transportation capability and huge construction costs, not only have quick and significant effects on the geo-economics and geopolitics of countries, but also expand their business model to the fields of international politics and diplomacy, and countries that have large capacities In this profitable business, they will occupy a higher position in global developments.
After the opening of the Afghan embassy in Tehran, the Islamic Republic is trying to expand diplomatic relations between the two sides, and the Iranian government is trying to increase the level of cooperation with Kabul in the economic and commercial fields. In this regard, officials of Iran and Afghanistan met and discussed with each other. In these meetings, the expansion of railway cooperation was discussed and Iran invited Taliban officials to visit Iran in order to examine the fields of railway cooperation. Iran’s negotiations with the Afghan side have taken place in the context of the recent opening of the Iran-Afghanistan railway route, which extends to Roznak, Herat, in the presence of the CEO of the Afghanistan Railway Organization, the Governor of Khorasan Razavi and a number of Iranian officials to pave the way for the development of commercial cooperation.
At that time, the spokesman of the Taliban announced the welcome of the Islamic Emirate of the Taliban to the development of rail connections with the Islamic Republic and wrote in a tweet, “The start of the railway line between Iran and Afghanistan and the transfer of goods from Turkey to Afghanistan through Herat Pass will open the great trade route between Afghanistan and Europe opened. After this transfer, Afghanistan’s commercial goods will also be transferred through this route, and the plan to transfer passengers through this railway line is still on the agenda.
The construction of the Khaf-Herat railway was proposed several decades ago to increase commercial exchanges and facilitate the transfer of goods between the two countries, but some issues prevented the construction of this railway line from starting. The route was started, but due to technical and financial problems, this railway did not make much progress for many years. However, from November 2020, the development of this railway line accelerated and its first and second sections were completed, and now the third section has been opened and only one step is left to complete it. This railway route is 225 kilometers long and its implementation was designed in four sections, the first and second sections of which are located in Iran and the third and fourth sections are located in Afghanistan. About 140 kilometers of these railway lines are located in Iran and 85 kilometers in Afghanistan, and the construction cost of three sections was built by Iranian engineers at an approximate cost of 2000 billion Tomans, and the completion of the fourth section was assigned to the Afghan side. This railway line includes 9 stations, 5 of which are inside Iran and 4 of which are located in Afghanistan. The construction work of its four parts should have been implemented jointly, but due to the problems Afghanistan had in providing capital for the fourth part, no significant progress has been made in the construction phase of this part. Therefore, if the Taliban interim government can build the fourth section, the trade between the two countries will be faster than before and its costs will also be reduced, and 6 million tons of goods and 1 million passengers can be moved annually.
Commercial advantage of railway lines for Afghanistan
Although the international community has hindered the development of Afghanistan due to the political pressure of the United States of America, Kabul hopes to be able to expand its foreign trade by playing a role in communication corridors, especially by rail, and enjoy the benefits of regional transit of goods. – Afghan trains will have access to Iran’s railway network, and goods made in Afghanistan will be sent to global markets through railway lines at a lower cost and with greater security instead of trucks. In addition, Afghanistan will be connected to the ports of the Persian Gulf, the Oman Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Indian Ocean, which can lead to economic prosperity in this country
Khawaf-Herat railway will not only strengthen Afghanistan’s trade with Iran, but will also help develop Kabul’s trade with other countries in the region. Herat is a city with a population of 550,000 and has long been a strategic pole of the Silk Road, responsible for the majority of Afghanistan’s trade with Iran, and is one of the richest cities in Afghanistan. Until now, land exchanges between Iran and Afghanistan were carried out by road, but with the opening of these railway lines, the monopoly of transporting goods by road routes will be broken, and the security of commercial exchanges will also increase. According to the statistics, currently 40% of Afghanistan’s import volume takes place through Dogharun border terminal in Taibad city, therefore, the activity of Khaf-Herat railway route number of 180,000 trucks that transport goods between Iran and Afghanistan through Dogharun annually is 50%. It reduces and not only lowers the cost of freight transportation, but the volume of economic exchanges between the two countries is expected to increase significantly.
On the other hand, according to the big planning that is being implemented in the region, Afghanistan’s rail routes are supposed to be connected to other rail lines in Iran, Central Asia and China in the future, and in this case, its importance will double. By expanding this railway line inside Afghanistan and connecting it to the Central Asian railway, intra-regional communication can be facilitated. Therefore, this city, if connected to the corridors of Central Asia and China, can become a regional center for loading and unloading goods going to China, Central Asia or Iran.
Also, Khawaf-Herat railway will be connected to Iran’s north and south corridor, and this strategic route is of special importance for Afghanistan, which suffers from geographical isolation. The geopolitical importance of Afghanistan has caused this country to become the scene of political and geopolitical competitions between regional and international powers in recent decades, and the connection of this country to the Oman Sea and the Persian Gulf through Iran will increase the importance and position of this country even more. Countries have always dreamed of having access to open waters, so with the establishment of the North-South Corridor, this opportunity will be provided for Afghans to develop their business through Chabahar Port. Because the expansion of transit exchanges between Iran and Afghanistan completes the route from India to Central Asia, and considering that Afghanistan has hundreds of kilometers of common border with Iran and exports the most goods to Iran among the neighboring countries, by implementing the North-South Corridor, These exchanges will be further developed.
Iran’s commercial interests in rail transit with Afghanistan
Although Iran has borne most of the cost of building the Khaf-Herat railway, Tehran will get a lot of income from this route. Tehran is eager to create more jobs and reduce poverty in western Afghanistan in order to reduce the influx of Afghan immigrants to Iran, and in this regard, communication projects such as the Khaf-Herat and Chabahar-Zahedan-Mashhad railway lines are needed for economic development in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan, South Khorasan. improves Khorasan Razavi and Kerman. According to the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, “with the launch of the Khawaf to Herat railway line, the goods transportation chain and the connecting point of the North-South corridor will be completed, and the possibility of connecting and transiting goods from Afghanistan through rail transportation to the open waters and with the completion of the Chabahar railway line will be completed. It is provided to Zahedan and Mashhad to the Oman Sea. “Also, by using the Khawf-Herat railway, it will increase the volume of transit on the route from Iran to Afghanistan by 1.5 times, reducing the cost of transporting goods.”
The annual trade volume between Iran and Afghanistan is more than one billion dollars, and with the equipping of this rail fleet, the volume of exchanges will increase in the future and will cause economic prosperity in the cities located on this route. Iranian officials believe that if this railway line is properly used, especially in the not-so-distant future when other connecting links to the international railway network will be provided through Iran and Afghanistan, the border provinces in the east will become active economic and connecting centers. There will be good economic, social and cultural relations with Afghan cities. Therefore, there is a need to develop the railway infrastructure in order to make the best use of this created space to strengthen business relations with the outside world. Iran is also seeking to improve access to important raw materials such as iron ore mines in western Afghanistan, with the completion of this railway line, many of these mines can be transferred to Iran for processing and a lot of income will be obtained for both countries.
Iran is trying to become a regional transportation center, and Afghanistan and other landlocked Asian countries can make good use of this privilege and transport goods to Iranian ports, which will help to boost trade in the region. If this railway line is developed inside Afghanistan, it will not only connect Iran to Central Asian countries and their rail network, but also pave Iran’s path towards China. The Khawaf-Herat railway project is part of the $2 billion five-country corridor of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China (FNRC). The length of this railway is 2000 km, and the railway route is stretched from Herat to the border of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and after passing through Tajikistan, it passes through Kyrgyzstan and reaches China’s Xinjiang region through the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway.
Khawf-Herat railway line is also considered as a part of China’s historical New Silk Road and if this missing rail link is completed, interactions between East and West will be boosted, and the countries that are located along the East-West Corridor centered on Khawf-Herat, in addition to Better rail access to other countries will also benefit from the benefits of goods transit, and Iran will play an effective role as a link between East and West in this world trade. Also, the city of Herat can appear as the gateway of Iran to Central Asia and vice versa, and the Khaf-Herat railway can contribute significantly to the diversification of foreign trade routes for Iranian businessmen active in Central Asia. Therefore, the Khawaf-Herat railway is an important victory for Iran and Afghanistan against American unilateralism, and its construction was achieved despite the sanctions against Iran’s economy. Tehran’s determined pursuit of cross-border rail networks has helped Iran integrate into the regional economy and weaken the impact of US sanctions. In an effort to reduce the consequences of American sanctions, Iran has increased its economic cooperation with its neighbors, and railway routes have become more and more the focus of the Iranian government’s attention, and the signing of dozens of agreements with Central Asian countries, China and Russia can be evaluated in this regard.
Currently, Iran has 6 international railway lines with the countries of Turkmenistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, and after the project of connecting Iraq and Azerbaijan, the number of railway lines will reach 8, and these railway lines will help to increase trade in the region. Iran will be the center of gravity of this international trade. Therefore, the increase in the volume of trade between Iran and the countries of the region will also neutralize the actions of America to isolate Iran and Afghanistan and will increase the weight and position of Tehran and Kabul in the world.
In general, it can be said that transport communication has been an important part of the strategy of Iran and Afghanistan to strengthen their international position after the start of the Ukraine crisis. To this end, the trial implementation of the Khawf-Herat project provides an opportunity for Tehran and Kabul to show that they are not isolated despite the efforts of the West. With the completion of this project, the Kabul-Tehran rail line will become a key part of the regional transportation network. However, in order to realize this vision and exploit the full potential of the Khaf-Herat railway, Iran and Afghanistan must overcome serious challenges and fight the tough efforts of competitors to keep up with the trade of rail routes that play an important role in today’s world.
