The inland sea beyond US naval reach is emerging as a key Russia-Iran wartime artery

Last updated: May 10, 2026 | 14:33

File picture: A Caspian Stream tanker at Korchagin's oil field in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea some 180 km outside Astrakhan. Unlike the Gulf, the Caspian Sea is effectively closed to Western naval intervention. AFP

Dubai: Israeli warplanes striking an Iranian naval facility on the Caspian Sea in March may have signalled something far bigger than a military raid. The attack on Bandar Anzali — hundreds of miles north of the Strait of Hormuz — exposed what Western officials increasingly see as a critical wartime lifeline between Iran and Russia: A largely hidden Caspian trade corridor helping Tehran move supplies, rebuild drone capabilities and bypass mounting pressure from the West.

Far from the Strait of Hormuz and hundreds of miles north of the Gulf, the Caspian Sea has quietly emerged as a crucial wartime artery linking Iran and Russia — a largely shielded trade corridor that…