Rouhani Says Shalamcheh-Basra Railway to Connect Iran to Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Reuters)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Reuters)
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Rouhani Says Shalamcheh-Basra Railway to Connect Iran to Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Reuters)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. (Reuters)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has promised to connect Iran to Iraq, Syria, and the Mediterranean through the Shalamcheh-Basra railway.

"Iran's Khorramshahr, Abadan, and Shalamcheh are located in a very important strategic area," said Rouhani during a video conference on Thursday.

"Per the agreement made with the Iraqi government on connecting Shalamcheh to Basra, we will be able to witness a fundamental change in this region,” he added.

"This will be a very big change and Iran's railway will be connected to Iraq and Syria, and in fact to the Mediterranean, which is very important," Rouhani stressed.

During his visit to Damascus on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif announced opening a consulate in Aleppo, as approved by the Syrian President to improve trade and economic ties between both countries.

According to SANA news agency, the two figures discussed bilateral relations and the ongoing coordination and consultation at all levels. They further tackled means of bolstering joint cooperation in various fields to serve both countries’ interests.

Sources revealed that establishing a railway link from Iran to the Mediterranean falls under the recently signed MoU between Iran and China.

The deal encourages Chinese investments in free trade zones and railways, in addition to highway road construction.

It also seeks to establish a joint industrial or services project in the third world country in order to contribute to the reconstruction in the region, including that in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.



Netherlands Summons Iranian Ambassador over Alleged Assassination Attempts

An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
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Netherlands Summons Iranian Ambassador over Alleged Assassination Attempts

An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An anti-Israeli billboard reads 'Once again, a Pharaoh will drown' at Palestine Square in Tehran, Iran, 22 April 2025. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran's ambassador to the Netherlands was summoned on Thursday after the Dutch intelligence agency said it suspected Tehran of being behind two assassination attempts in Europe, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
The Dutch general intelligence agency, known as the AIVD, said in its annual report published on Thursday that two men were arrested in June 2024 in the Dutch town of Haarlem after an assassination attempt there on an Iranian residing in the country.
One of the suspects is also suspected of the failed assassination attempt on Spanish politician and Iran critic Alejo Vidal-Quadras in Madrid in November 2023, Reuters quoted it as saying.
"The two assassination attempts fit into the modus operandi that Iran has been using for years: using criminal networks in Europe to silence purported opponents of the regime. Based on intelligence, it is likely that Iran is responsible for the two liquidation attempts," the AIVD said.
Several months after surviving the shooting attack, Vidal-Quadras, who co-founded the Spanish far-right party Vox, said he believed that Iran's government had hired hitmen to assassinate him over his links to an Iranian dissident group, without providing evidence of the assertion.