Iran turns to China rail link as US blockade strains sea trade
Cargo trains from central China to Iran have risen from about one a week to one every three or four days since the US blockade began, Bloomberg reported, as Tehran seeks alternative routes to blunt maritime pressure.
The route crosses several sovereign states, including Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, making it much harder for the United States to disrupt than Persian Gulf shipping lanes.
Directly targeting the overland network could widen the conflict and raise tensions with Beijing, which has spent years building trade routes that bypass maritime choke points dominated by the US Navy.
