16:12 - 17.12.2025

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December 17, Fineko/abc.az. An Iranian delegation will pay a visit to Russia within a month to sign a contract for the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line, ABC.AZ informs, quoting Khushang Bazvand, the Director of Construction & Development of Transport infrastructure of Iran.

"According to forecasts, in less than a month, a delegation from Iran will be sent to Russia for the final signing of the contract, and after that, work on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway will actually begin," he said during a press conference.

According to Bazvand, the Iranian side accepted around 70% of the proposals from the Russian Federation on the design and construction of the railway section. Construction company Khatam al-Anbia, which is part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was chosen as the general contractor.

In 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement within the framework of the North-South Project on the joint construction of a 160-km section of the Rasht-Astara road, which is designed to provide through passage to the ports of the Persian Gulf. The total cost of the project is €1.6 billion. Moscow and Tehran will jointly finance the design, construction and supply of goods and services.

On December 12, Iranian President Masoud Peseshkian, during a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, announced that the Iranian authorities had already bought more than 100 km of the 160-km section of the Rasht-Astara road between the Islamic Republic and Azerbaijan for construction and hoped to complete the process by March 2026.