TEHRAN (Iran News) Minister Farzaneh Sadegh detailed the government’s latest actions in the fields of ports, rail transport, and aviation.

Sadegh stated that numerous memorandums of understanding have been signed in the port sector, including agreements worth approximately 200 trillion rials with private sector investors. These agreements involve key ports such as Shahid Rajaee Port, Port of Chabahar, and Amirabad Port, along with several others.

She highlighted what she described as a major development in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman region under the current administration, including the signing of a logistics site agreement at Shahid Rajaee Port with Kazakhstan. “What we are witnessing now is economic diplomacy in action,” she said, emphasizing that transport and transit serve as the backbone of Iran’s broader regional economic engagement.

The minister also announced the start of dredging operations in the Arvand River, marking the first such effort since the Iran-Iraq War. She described the project as highly significant for both Khuzestan province and the country as a whole.

Several wartime shipwrecks remain submerged in the river, including the large “Khanian” wreck. Authorities aim to remove the wreckage before the Iranian New Year. Currently, only vessels of 2,000 to 3,000 tons can navigate the river, but after dredging, ships of up to 15,000 tons will be able to pass.

Sadegh said President Masoud Pezeshkian personally follows up weekly on the development of suburban rail systems, particularly around Tehran and other major cities. She cited heavy traffic congestion, air pollution, and road accidents as major reasons for prioritizing commuter rail.

The ministry aims to resolve suburban transit challenges between Tehran and surrounding cities within the next 18 months. Coordination efforts are underway between the national railway company, municipalities, and the Interior Ministry to ensure efficient passenger distribution through low-emission buses, vans, and taxis.

On international rail corridors, Sadegh said Iran has intensified cooperation with neighboring countries including Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey. She emphasized that the long-awaited Chabahar–Zahedan railway—considered a missing strategic link—will be completed by the end of the current year. The project has surpassed 80 percent physical progress.

Additional rail segments connecting Khash to Iranshahr and Chabahar to Nikshahr are also nearing completion, with track-laying progressing rapidly.

The minister confirmed that land acquisition for the Rasht–Astara railway route will be finalized this year. The project is of particular importance to Iran and Russia within the North–South Transport Corridor framework.

Regarding the Shalamcheh–Basra railway, she said demining operations have been completed on the Iranian side, and construction of a bridge over the Arvand River is expected to be finished before next year’s Arbaeen pilgrimage. Iran is responsible for bridge construction, while Iraq will lay the track.

Sadegh announced the revival of the China–Iran freight train after years of suspension, noting that a substantial portion of imported solar panels has recently arrived via this route. The rail corridor now enables cargo movement from China through Iran onward to Europe.

She added that rail links between Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey have resumed, as has freight service connecting Uzbekistan through Turkmenistan to Iran and onward to the Persian Gulf, Sea of Oman, and India. Rail capacity from Russia through the eastern branch of the International North–South Corridor has also increased. “China–Iran”

Passenger services such as the Tehran–Van train have resumed after years of inactivity.

Addressing aviation delays, Sadegh acknowledged that sanctions have impacted aircraft maintenance and fleet expansion. Nevertheless, nearly 2,000 seats have been added with private sector cooperation.

She stressed that while sanctions pose challenges, airlines must uphold passenger rights. The Civil Aviation Organization, she said, monitors airline performance and has required carriers to display passenger rights information at airports and onboard aircraft. “China–Iran”

Despite existing fleet limitations, she emphasized the government’s commitment to improving maintenance standards and reducing delays to better serve public demand.

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Speaking to ILNA, Bahram Shakouri expressed his views on Iran-China 25-Year Document and its impacts on the mining sector and said there are different views on the Chinese investment in the mining sector. He added some believe this agreement will cause damage for the country but I believe that foreign investment can help the country grow and excel, noting that if Iran can have a good cooperation with other countries especially with a country like China, it will help it.

He pointed to the scale of investment by the Chinese in the mining sector, saying that what is seen in the document shows that the Chinese are interested to have $400b investment in different fields in Iran of which $80b will be in the mines and mining industry. Shakouri reiterated the amount of investment in Iran’s mines and mining sector since Reza Shah has hardly touched $50b.

He reiterated that even this small amount of investment in the mining sector has led to creation of job, development, production and exports, admitting that $80b is a very considerable amount.

Shakouri said this amount of investment as well as other investments in other fields like infrastructures, transportation, developing ports can have very good results for the country. He added that perhaps the concerns of people about this agreement is that those countries which have attracted investment from China have not been happy and there are also some concerns about finalizing these agreements.

He reiterated that if the Chinese sign deals with the private sector, then the private sector because of its own interest will not risk and as the result it will meet the national interests.

Shakouri reiterated that ICCIMA, Majlis and all bodies in the country are working hard on the agreement in order that it meet the national demands, reiterating that the contracts should be a win-win ones as both the Chinese and Iranians can benefit them and one cannot expect only the two parties just benefits the agreements.

Responding to a question on the investment of the Chinese in Iran’s mining sector till now, he said due to sanctions, foreigners and even the Chinese have not have significant investments in this sector and due to sanctions they preferred to buy mining products and China’s investment has not been considerable.

Shakouri noted that this document can help more capital to enter Iran’s mining sector, adding that Iran has huge capacities in this industry which has attraction for investment.

He said all should have positive approach to this document but at the same time we should increase our vigilance that the agreements are signed in a way that both parties benefit them.

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A climate which has been painted in these four years and a quarter between the two states means that the U.S. as flag-bearer of the West in the conflict with China sees inevitable its rivalry and hostility with this country. On the other hand, they consider insignificant the impact of these two countries on the common trend in running their overseas economies from the strategic aspect and they do not assess these impacts because of their international stands and their roles in legislating the international rules.

Of course what is obvious in the current climate of the world community is that Americans mostly fan the flames for creating tension and some sort of crisis. For example, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his recent remarks has assessed his country’s relations with China “increasingly adversarial” and in one of his interviews has said that he wants to deal with Beijing in any interaction or confrontation from a position of strength. Indeed, these types of remarks of the U.S. Secretary of the State are considered as a hidden reflection of the national security strategic guidance of the country that some part of it has been published and it has presented the U.S. approach as an anti-Asian one.

Although in this guidance it has been said that the U.S. in some fields like climate change, infectious disease, stability of world economy and also in the issues like North Korea and Iran can have close cooperation with China but verbally and in the remarks in the media, the U.S. is competing for a better position in the economic and political scenes with China and in operational field with India, and actually in Asia. On the sidelines of the effective reflection of competition and collaboration, there are also several disputable issues between Beijing and Washington which can lead to the increasing trend of adversary between the two states.

If we want to determine the priority in competition, cooperation and adversary in the ties between the U.S. and China, it should be said that currently competition comes first which is marching towards increasing adversary and the cooperation between them is in the lowest level of the priority. Of course the type of China’s behavior has been less in media spotlight and the country has shown more restraint and this does not mean that China has done nothing in direction of protecting its interest.

What is seen through a simple assessment is that China has supported the Philippines more openly in the past one year, has resisted against the adoption of UNSC’s resolutions against the Myanmar government and at the same time it has boosted its strategic relations with Pakistan and also recently signed or actually made public its 25-year cooperation agreement with Iran.

In fact, the Beijing government has resorted to the similar action taken by the U.S. in recruiting allies from the regional states for encountering China’s policies and it has started to recruit more strategic allies in competition with the U.S. in Asia. In such a condition, this strategy is shown by the American as a propagation strategy that the competition for supremacy has caused the hostility between the two countries to grow upward. So it should be said despite a new administration taking power in the U.S., the tension in relations of the both states not only has not decreased but also has been set on collision course and on more confrontation comparing to the time Trump was in office.

Therefore, it should be expected the ties between Tehran and Beijing to move in direction of more tension in the future and issues for cooperation between them like climate or infectious diseases will not let the strategic competition between the U.S. and China remain covered. Although China is currently moving on course of competing with the U.S. with a precautionary approach but one point should be mentioned that China government comparing to last year has to some extent come out of its precautionary mood in recruiting ally and it is objectively seeking providence in recruiting allies in encountering the U.S. policies.

What should be assessed as a futuristic analysis is that China due to its enormous forex reserves in the U.S. will not spearhead the production of hostility or at least in Biden’s four years in office will try not risk and adventurism in creating tension and will be more cautious than the U.S. in regulating precautionary criteria. Perhaps this precautionary policy has forced the U.S. to take initiative in propaganda war.

One should see how much the soft trend and turtle move of China in the West Asia would restrict the Western policies and especially the U.S., and it will be faced with more diligent action of the White House.

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In Friday’s talks the participants agreed to meet in person in Vienna on Tuesday, April 6, after “frank and serious talks,” according to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, a senior negotiator in the talks.

Here is the full text of the interview with Fitzpatrick over his expectation of this round of talks:

Q: What is your prediction in regard to the results of ongoing negotiations over reviving the JCPOA? Are you optimistic about the outcome of the talks?

Fitzpatrick: It should not have taken two months for talks to begin on restoring the JCPOA. But now that all parties are at the table – albeit not exactly at the same table. I expect they will be able to work out a “compliance for compliance” agreement within the next few months.

All parties share the same goal of resuming the deal that was negotiated with such intense efforts in 2015.  It would be tragic if that goal cannot be reached due to political impediments in both capitals.

Q: What are the main domestic challenges that hinder Biden’s return to the JCPOA? Do you think Biden can contain hawkish attempts intended to completely kill the deal?

Fitzpatrick: President Joe Biden faces severe political challenges in that he cannot count on a majority of Senators to support a clean “compliance for compliance” restoration of the JCPOA.  Some key senators in his own party have said that a restored JCPOA should have additional conditions, such as an agreement to address missiles and other issues and extend the nuclear limits’ timelines.  In particular, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez opposed the JCPOA back in 2015.  Biden needs Menendez’s help on many other matters, not least of all getting officials such as Deputy Secretary of State designee Wendy Sherman through the Senate confirmation process.  So, Biden cannot afford to anger Menendez by ignoring his views.  This is one reason Biden has been cautious about lifting sanctions waivers. Ultimately, I expect Menendez will not want to be responsible for killing a deal to revive the JCPOA, but it may take additional time and some compromises that Iran will not like.

Q: Is there any Russian initiative to revive the JCPOA? How do you see Russia and China’s role in this regard as they have deep disagreements with the Biden administration?

Fitzpatrick:  Russia and China were helpful partners in negotiations that produced the 2015 accord, and their active support will be needed for efforts to revive the deal.  But frankly, they are not the most important players. The key negotiations will involve mainly the U.S. and Iran. China’s role may be more important than that of Russia because China can offer more in the way of incentives, including investment and purchase of Iranian oil. The recent cooperation deal signed between Iran and China, lacking in detail though it was, shows Iranians that the potential for global trade once U.S. sanctions are lifted.

Q: Two progressive Democratic members of Congress (Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Ro Khanna) argued that the United States needs to make the first move in returning to the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran also says it is the U.S. that left the agreement and it should be the first party to return to its commitments. What is your comment?

Fitzpatrick:  When two parties in a standoff insist that the other must move first, the obvious answer is to take simultaneous steps.  This is a way to work around political impediments to a deal.  Working out the arrangements for simultaneity will require detailed negotiations. This is why it is so important that “proximity talks” are finally beginning.  That said, I do think the United States can afford to take some early steps, such as releasing some of the Iranian funds frozen in South Korea. Such a step could be politically justified in Washington on the grounds that the funds will be used for humanitarian goods, especially in light of the Covid wave that is again hitting Iran.

Q: Do you think the 25-year partnership pact between Iran and China can affect the attempts to revive the JCPOA? Why is the Biden administration worried about China’s influence in West Asia?

Fitzpatrick:  China and the United States are increasingly at odds on many issues, and most Americans regard China’s foreign policy moves with great suspicion in terms of motives and potential consequences in undercutting U.S. national interests. The China-Iran partnership pact is not necessarily detrimental to the United States. In fact, it could even be helpful in acting as an incentive to restoring the JCPOA. Nebulous though the partnership pact may be, it could show Iranian citizens the economic potential if U.S. sanctions were removed and Iran could freely engage in international trade.

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With its unilateral sanctions imposed against Islamic Republic of Iran, Washington created serious problems in Iran’s economic development, but interaction and cooperation of Tehran and Beijing will make US sanctions ‘ineffective’, he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he placed special emphasis on the significance of regional interactions and status of Iran, China and Pakistan for establishing trilateral cooperation and stated that signing strategic cooperation document between Iran and China is a giant development that can reinforce Pakistan’s cooperation with the two countries of Iran and China.

The convergence and cooperation between Iran, China, and Pakistan strengthen trade by sea, especially using the capacities of ports of Chabahar, Jask, and Gwadar, he added.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his visiting Chinese counterpart Wang Yi signed the 25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in Tehran on March 27, marking a milestone in bilateral relations between the two countries.

The cooperation roadmap had been announced in a joint statement during a visit to Tehran by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2016.

It consists of 20 articles, covering Tehran-Beijing ties in “Political,” “Executive Cooperation,” “Human and Cultural,” “Judiciary, Security and Defense,” and “Regional and International” domains.

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