Corridors war new arena for Iran’s strategic influence

Speaking at the sixth meeting of the scientific committee for the conference on “Basij, Development, and Sustainable Security in Southeastern Iran” on Monday, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi highlighted the growing importance of Iran’s geopolitical position.

“The world today is engaged in a new form of competition known as the corridors war; a rivalry defined by railways, sea routes, and transit roads,” said Safavi, a former chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

He noted that in this arena, “nations with strategic geography and strong public security will be the main players.”

The corridors war, he added, “reflects a civilizational competition between the East and the West, and that Iran, with its unique position connecting East to West and North to South, can serve as a new axis of regional [power] balance.”

Iran’s special geographical location, situated along the international corridors of North-South and East-West, which connect West Asia to East Asia and Europe, has provided the country with a unique transit point.

Iran’s railway network in the west links with Turkey and to Europe; in the northwest to Azerbaijan; in the north to the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia; in the northeast to Turkmenistan and Central Asia, Russia and China; in the southeast to Pakistan; and in the south to the Persian Gulf and the open waters of the world./mehr