Israel described its March strike on the Iranian navy headquarters at Bandar Anzali Port, which also destroyed Iranian aircraft, as “one of the most significant” it carried out in the war. But that port is not on the Persian Gulf, whose strategic importance is clear. It is on the Caspian Sea, hundreds of kilometers to the north. A detailed New York Times report described the Caspian Sea’s importance as a trade route linking Russia and Iran.
The report said the Caspian Sea provides the two countries with a route for both overt and covert trade — shipments that have helped Iran in its confrontation with the United States, despite America’s clear military superiority. U.S. officials said Russia is sending drone components to Iran through the Caspian Sea, helping Tehran rebuild its offensive capabilities after losing about 60% of its drone stockpile in the war.
Footage: IDF strike on Iran in the Caspian Sea
(Video: IDF Spokesperson)
Russia is also supplying goods that would normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is blocked as part of the U.S. naval blockade. The closure of the strait has forced Iran to rely on the Caspian Sea as an alternative trade route. Iranian officials said efforts to open alternative trade routes are advancing quickly, with four Iranian ports along the Caspian Sea working around the clock to bring in wheat, corn, animal feed, sunflower oil and other supplies.
Russian trade officials and maritime port-tracking statistics also point to a rapid increase in Caspian Sea shipping in recent months. Two million tons of Russian wheat that had previously been shipped each year to Iran through the Black Sea — now under threat of Ukrainian attacks — is currently being transported through the Caspian Sea, said Vitaly Chernov, an analyst who tracks Russia’s shipping industry. “Against the backdrop of instability in the Middle East, Caspian routes to Iran look much more attractive,” he said.
Alexander Sharov, the head of a company that helps Russian exporters find Iranian buyers, estimated in an interview that cargo volume through the Caspian Sea could double this year. He said that while Western sanctions have made some large companies hesitant to use the Caspian route, the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could help overcome that reluctance.
The Caspian Sea is considered the world’s largest lake. It is very difficult to monitor remotely, in part because ships traveling between Russian and Iranian ports routinely turn off their tracking transmitters, which allow satellite monitoring. Unlike in the Persian Gulf, the United States cannot stop ships in the Caspian Sea because only the five countries bordering it are allowed to operate there. “If you’re thinking about the ideal place for sanction evasion and military transfers, it’s the Caspian,” Nicole Grajewski, an Iran and Russia expert, told The Times.
Russia and Iran speak openly about trade in goods such as wheat, but trade in weapons systems is, of course, an entirely different matter. The drone shipments illustrate the close security cooperation between the countries. Although the Russian drone components likely did not play a decisive role in the war, they are helping Tehran strengthen its drone stockpile. U.S. officials said that if the shipments continue, they will help Iran quickly rebuild that arsenal.
According to those officials, trade in previous years flowed in both directions: Iran sent drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, while Russia sent parts to Iran. But Russia’s need for supplies from Iran declined after July 2023, when it began producing its own version of the Shahed drone under an Iranian license.
Analysts have noticed an increase in Caspian Sea traffic by “dark ships” — cargo vessels that turn off their tracking signals. Iran used the Caspian Sea in the early stages of the war in Ukraine to resupply Russia with ammunition. It later began sending its Iranian-made Shahed drones to Russia through the Caspian Sea.
“Russia and Iran have found ways around the sanctions regime,” said Anna Borshchevskaya, an expert on Russian policy in the Middle East. “And that’s exactly why the Israelis bombed the port. Because they understood that through this small, very important trade route, Russia can provide a lot of help to Iran.”