NYT: Russia is shipping drone components to Iran via Caspian Sea
The report highlights the new centrality of the Caspian Sea amid the Hormuz blockade
The U.S.-Israeli war against Iran threw renewed attention on the often-overlooked geopolitical importance of the Caspian Sea as a trade corridor linking Russia and Iran, according to a New York Times report published Saturday.
The example provided by the authors was Israeli attack on Iran’s naval command center at the Bandar Anzali port that destroyed several Iranian navy vessels in what the Israelis called “one of the most significant” operations it had conducted against Iran in the course of the latest war.
The report cites U.S. officials as saying Russia now is shipping drone components to Iran via the Caspian Sea, helping Iran rebuild its offensive abilities after losing an estimated 60 percent of its UAV arsenal during recent fighting.
Since the U.S. Navy blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, the Caspian is now the route through which Russia is supplying Iran with a range of goods that would have usually gone through the blocked waterway.
The Caspian, the world's largest inland body of water, is bordered by Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Azerbaijan.
Iranian efforts to find alternative trade routes are focused on the Caspian sea, where four ports are "working around the clock to bring in wheat, corn, animal feed, sunflower oil and other supplies."
Russia's reasons for preferring the Caspian as a trade route include the threat of Ukrainian attacks on the Black Sea, it is understood.
Vitaly Chernov, the head of analytics for the PortNews Media Group, which tracks Russia’s maritime industry was quoted as saying that “against the backdrop of instability in the Middle East, Caspian routes to Iran look much more attractive" to Russia.