The Dreaded Railway to Herat and China; An Opportunity to Shift the Geoeconomic Situation

Objectives and Background: To analyze how the creation and expansion of an international railway network from Iran to Afghanistan and China, directly or via Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, can facilitate transport and cultural communication and relations with Europe and the Western world. If the railway from Khaf in eastern Iran to Herat in Afghanistan is completed and built, and the Herat-Kashgar railway corridor in China is established, a suitable platform will be created for the development of infrastructure, economic investment, especially in mining, and interaction and exchange between countries. This plan will digitize the revival of the Silk Road and the modern Eastern civilization for the development and welfare of the people and will transform the geopolitical and geostrategic situation of this land into a geoeconomic situation. Conclusion: Despite the important functions, threats and challenges of this strategic plan. The Iranian government's delay in completing the "Khaf to Herat" railway, The possibility of extending the railway with Russian standards from Mazar-e-Sharif to Herat and Kabul in continuation of the newly created railway from the Hairtan region on the border of Uzbekistan to Mazar-e-Sharif, and The possibility of extending the railway with the Indian subcontinent standard from Spin Boldak, Pakistan to Kandahar, Afghanistan and weakening the geoeconomic position of Herat in the near future. Any negligence regarding the railway construction on the dangerous route to Kashgar will result in irreparable international losses for European countries, China, and countries in the region, especially Iran and Afghanistan, in the future.