A Sanctions-Proof Trade Route

Russia and Iran are spending billions to build an inland corridor stretching all the way to India

- Jonathan Tirone and Golnar Motevalli, with Sam Dodge

Russia and Iran are building a transcontinental trade route stretching from the eastern edge of Europe to the Indian Ocean, a 3,000-kilometer (1,860-mile) passage that's beyond the reach of any foreign intervention.

The two countries are spending billions of dollars to speed up delivery of cargoes along rivers and railways linked by the Caspian Sea. Ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show dozens of Russian and Iranian vessels-including some that are subject to sanctions-already plying the route.

Russia and Iran, under tremendous pressure from sanctions, are turning toward each other-and they're looking eastward, too. The goal is to shield commercial links from Western interference and build new ones with the giant and fast-growing economies of Asia. "This is about establishing sanctionsproof supply chains all the way through," says Maria Shagina, a Russia expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

The emerging trade corridor would allow Russia and Iran to shave thousands of kilometers off existing routes. At its northern end is the Sea of Azov, which is bracketed by the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine's southeastern coast-including the Russian-occupied port of Mariupol-and the mouth of the River Don. From there river, sea and rail networks extend to Iranian hubs on the Caspian Sea and ultimately the Indian Ocean.