Can Iran Replace Sea Trade With Land Routes?

Iran is trying to keep its economy going after a US-led blockade cut off much of its sea trade. The blockade has made it very hard for ships to use Iran's southern ports, where most of the country's goods normally come in and go out. Now, Iranian leaders are looking at roads, railways, and northern ports as backup routes. Experts say these land corridors can help move some goods, but they cannot fully replace what ships carry.

Iran's Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian leaders. He said Iran needs to use its northern borders more and move goods away from its southern coast. Iran shares land borders with seven countries and has access to the Caspian Sea, giving it several possible land and rail routes. Those neighbors include Russia, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, and countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus region.

Iran's northern ports have a lot of room to grow. Officials say those ports can handle more than 30 million tons of cargo each year, but less than one-third of that space is being used right now. That means there is room to move more food, grain, and other goods through the Caspian Sea. Routes through Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan could also carry more trade if they are improved.

One key connection is the Astara freight terminal, which links Iran to Azerbaijan and Russia. It was built to handle 3.5 to 4 million tons of goods per year. But in the first five months of 2026, it only moved about 345,000 tons. A railway line between the cities of Rasht and Astara is still not finished, and that gap is slowing things down even more.

The biggest problem with land routes is that they simply cannot carry as much as ships. A lawmaker named Jafar Ghaderi said that about 83 percent of Iran's imports — which add up to around 210 million tons — normally move through its southern sea borders. That is a huge amount of goods. Moving all of that by road or rail would be extremely difficult and very expensive.

The cost difference between sea and land shipping is large. Shipping one container from China to Iran by sea costs about $3,000. Sending that same container overland costs roughly $12,000 — four times as much. Iran receives about 2 million containers through its southern ports every year. If those all had to go by land instead, it could add around $18 billion to Iran's trading costs.

To understand why ships are so much more efficient, think about the numbers. One large cargo ship can carry 50,000 tons of goods at once. To move that same amount by truck, you would need about 2,000 trips, with each truck carrying 25 tons. Those trucks would then be too busy to deliver goods inside Iran, and the longer journeys would raise costs for fuel, insurance, and storage.

Energy exports are the hardest problem of all. Iran exports a lot of crude oil, and a single large oil tanker can carry 1.5 to 2 million barrels. To move that much oil by road would take thousands of tanker trucks, which is not practical. Rail is better than road for oil, but it still cannot match the speed, cost, or size of sea transport. No land route comes close to replacing large oil shipments to buyers in Asia.

Iran did build a pipeline called the Goreh-Jask pipeline to help move oil without going through the Strait of Hormuz. The pipeline sends crude oil to the Gulf of Oman, which gives Iran another way to export energy. But experts say the pipeline is not being used anywhere near its full planned capacity. Building a pipeline is not enough on its own — you also need storage, buyers, insurance, and a way to handle payments.

Even so, land routes do have real value for Iran. They can move food, medicine, and industrial supplies that people need every day. They can also help Iran build stronger trade relationships with Russia, Central Asia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Iraq. If Iran keeps investing in these routes, the blockade may actually speed up projects that had been put off for years.

Experts say the best way to think about land corridors is as a backup plan, not a full solution. Energy strategist Umud Shokri said the plan is 'realistic as a resilience strategy, but not as a replacement strategy.' Land routes can lower risk, keep some trade going, and buy Iran time. But they cannot replace the massive scale of trade and energy exports that once flowed through Iran's southern ports and the Persian Gulf.