MOSCOW: The US-Israeli missile attack on Iran's Bandar Anzali, a key transit hub on the INSTC linking Mumbai with St Petersburg, is a major blow to the Indo-Russian ambition of boosting bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2030 via the crucial corridor, experts said Saturday.
The 7,200-kilometre long multi-modal International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) links Mumbai to St Petersburg via Iran, bypassing the Suez Canal, to boost trade between Asia and Europe.
The Israeli-American joint strike destroyed the Customs House and some other structures in Bandar Anzali on the Caspian Sea coast on March 18, local media reports said.
“This route bypassing Suez canal was considered safe, but now due to higher risks caused by the Israeli-American strikes, the rates of insurance and freight will shoot up, which will have a negative impact on Russia and other CIS countries interested in using it,” Professor Renat Karamurzov of Institute of Asia, Africa Studies at the Moscow State University said.
He was speaking at the weekly 'International Panorama' programme of Rossiya 24.
“This corridor is extremely important for our bilateral relations with India as it significantly cuts transit time from 25-30 days to seven days from Moscow to Mumbai,” Russian political analyst Sergei Strokan said while speaking in 'Time Will Show' programme of Channel 1 TV, as he detailed about the consequences of the strike on Bandal Anzali.
The experts' comments come on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and condemned the attacks on critical infrastructure in the Gulf region, stressing the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation and ensuring shipping lanes remain open and secure.
“The role of INSTC in boosting India's trade and economic interaction with not only Russia but also landlocked countries of Central Asia is also likely to be the focus of discussion at a bilateral brain-storming session of experts on Monday in Moscow,” Ivan Timofeev of Russia International Affairs Council (RIAC) said during a radio discussion.
The conference 'Russia and India: Towards a New Agenda for Bilateral Relations', to be organised by the Indian Embassy here and the RIAC will discuss culture, trade, mobility and connectivity.
According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Saveliyev, over 7.5 million tonnes of cargo was transported through the trans-Caspian route by the end of 2025.
“Another priority project for our country is the development of the North-South International Transport Corridor,” DPM Vitali Saveliyev declared on Friday while speaking at the annual board meeting of the Transport Ministry.
On Friday, Russia expressed concern and warned that the “reckless and irresponsible” US-Israeli strike on the Iranian port created a risk of drawing the Caspian states into the ongoing conflict.
“We are watching with growing alarm the expanding geography of Israeli and US air strikes in Iran. The US-Israeli coalition continues to add fuel to the war they have ignited in the Middle East (West Asia), further escalating it,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
She also described the major Caspian harbour as an important trade and logistics hub, actively used to support Russian-Iranian trade, including food.
A week before the strike on Bandar Anzali, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in an interview with the government news agency RIA Novosti said: “We expect this project to continue to be implemented and brought to life. Much has been accomplished, and some very good groundwork has been laid.”
India, Iran and Russia had signed the multi-modal INSTC agreement in 2000 to link Mumbai to St Petersburg bypassing the Suez Canal via Iran to boost trade between Asia and Europe. Many nations, including some Gulf states and Pakistan, have joined this project at different stages.
Earlier, a Joint Statement following Russian President Vladimir Putin's December 4-5, 2025 State visit to India for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit had mentioned that the two Sides agreed to deepen cooperation in building stable and efficient transport corridors, with the focus on expanding logistics links for improving connectivity and enhancing infrastructure capacity to support the INSTC.