Sudani Lays Foundation for Iraq-Iran Railway

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Vice President's Media Office shows Vice President Mohammad Mokhber (L) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani laying the foundation stone for the railway connection project at the Shalamja border crossing in Iraq's southern province of Basra Governorate on September 2, 2023. (Iranian Vice-Presidency / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the Iranian Vice President's Media Office shows Vice President Mohammad Mokhber (L) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani laying the foundation stone for the railway connection project at the Shalamja border crossing in Iraq's southern province of Basra Governorate on September 2, 2023. (Iranian Vice-Presidency / AFP)
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Sudani Lays Foundation for Iraq-Iran Railway

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Vice President's Media Office shows Vice President Mohammad Mokhber (L) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani laying the foundation stone for the railway connection project at the Shalamja border crossing in Iraq's southern province of Basra Governorate on September 2, 2023. (Iranian Vice-Presidency / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the Iranian Vice President's Media Office shows Vice President Mohammad Mokhber (L) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani laying the foundation stone for the railway connection project at the Shalamja border crossing in Iraq's southern province of Basra Governorate on September 2, 2023. (Iranian Vice-Presidency / AFP)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani laid on Saturday the foundation stone of a railway between his country and neighboring Iraq.

A ceremony was held at the Shalamja border crossing with Iran in the southern Basra province in Iraq. Present at the event was Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, underscoring the importance of the occasion.

The establishment will be a milestone in the transport of travelers and visitors of holy sites from Iran and central Asian countries.

Baghdad and Tehran agreed to establish the railway in 2021.

Mokhber told Iranian media that he expects the volume of trade between the neighbors to witness a “massive leap” after the completion of the railway connection between Basra and Shalamja.

He said the project will be complete within the next two years, adding that it consolidates relations between Iraq and Iran.

Sudani has said that the railway will be limited to the transport of travelers, but Mokhber’s remarks revealed that Iran aims to transport goods, a move opposed by Iraqi political circles given its impact on operations at Iraq’s Grand Faw Port.

Iraq is planning to kick off the implementation of the Development Road plan that stretches from Basra, where the port is located, to Iraq’s northern-most point. It would then pass through Türkiye, then Europe. Over a billion dollars have been spent on the project.

An informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the railway connection agreement was signed during the term of Iraqi former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

It stressed that the railway will be restricted to the transport of travelers, not goods.

Moreover, the railway carriages are not designed to carry goods, only passengers, it added.



Hamas Rejects Netanyahu’s Claim Military Pressure Helped Secure Hostage Release 

People watch a live broadcast of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander as he is released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, at a plaza known as the hostages square in Tel Aviv, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP)
People watch a live broadcast of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander as he is released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, at a plaza known as the hostages square in Tel Aviv, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP)
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Hamas Rejects Netanyahu’s Claim Military Pressure Helped Secure Hostage Release 

People watch a live broadcast of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander as he is released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, at a plaza known as the hostages square in Tel Aviv, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP)
People watch a live broadcast of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander as he is released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, at a plaza known as the hostages square in Tel Aviv, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP)

Hamas on Tuesday rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that military pressure had helped secure the release of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander from Gaza a day earlier.

"The return of Edan Alexander is the result of serious communications with the US administration and the efforts of mediators, not a consequence of Israeli aggression or the illusion of military pressure," Hamas said in a statement, adding that "Netanyahu is misleading his people".

Hamas released Alexander who had been held hostage in Gaza for more than 19 months, offering a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration that could lay the groundwork for a new ceasefire with Israel.

Alexander, 21, was the first hostage released since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March and unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of Palestinians.

Israel has promised to intensify its offensive, including by seizing Gaza and displacing much of the territory's population again.

Days before the ceasefire ended, Israel blocked all imports from entering the Palestinian enclave, deepening a humanitarian crisis and sparking warnings about the risk of famine if the blockade isn’t lifted. Israel says the steps are meant to pressure Hamas to accept a ceasefire agreement on Israel’s terms.