China-Iran Rail Corridor Opened May 25, 2025; the Twelve-Day War Began 19 Days Later

On May 25th, 2025, a 14,000-km railroad delivered its first freight train between China and Iran. Nineteen days later, the Israelis struck an Iranian oil refinery, preventing the trade and the use of that corridor ever since. In a 20-minute video produced by YouTube channel “Core Insights,” the background of this rail corridor is presented. It is described as a project to give China an option to continue trade in the event the Strait of Malacca becomes blocked, and it also passes through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan, which otherwise are landlocked. There were various challenges, including different gauge railroads, but they came up with solutions, and the China-Iran corridor has reduced travel to 15 days from the maritime route, which would normally take up to 40 days. The film documents other proposed Belt and Road corridors, including the Arctic sea route, which probably has a great deal to do with why President Donald Trump has been trying to get his hands on Greenland.