Lim Tean

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Why Trump’s Naval Blockade Will Never Strangle Iran.

My first and only visit to Iran was in 2003, when I went to the country with my team to investigate a shipping casualty at the port of Bandar Iman Khomeini, in preparation for a London arbitration against the charterers.

Like so many who did not know Iran well, I had assumed the country was one big dessert as it was in the Middle East. Instead, I found a country of extraordinary beauty. Tehran is ringed by gorgeous mountains. Our plane took off from Dubai but was prevented from landing in Tehran because of a snow blizzard. After circling Tehran for several hours,the pilot had to fly back to Dubai. So 10 hours after we first took off from Dubai, we found ourselves back at our airport hotel. The next day, the weather was much kinder and we finally managed to land in Tehran.

The gorgeous views of the snow-capped mountains around Tehran are still etched in my mind. And I still remember the aroma of freshly baked naan bread emanating from the many small bakeries which dot the city. It was an experience to see long lines of people waiting to buy bread and the happy faces of many men and women carrying freshly baked bread home to their families.

After our work at Bandar Iman Khomeini, my team took off to Isfahan, an ancient capital of the Persian empire, to explore the history of this ancient civilisation. Don’t get me started on Isfahan, because it is one of the greatest wonders of the world I have visited. I will write about the glories of Isfahan another time.

But the visit to Isfahan was very personal and significant for me. In 1985, my late Father had first brought me to China. China then was still a very poor country- not the giant behemoth it is today. On that trip he took me to Xian ( also known as Changan in ancient times). Xian was the ancient capital of China, the seat of 11 dynasties. Its most famous attraction is of course the Terra Cotta warriors- the life size terra cotta army which protected China’s 1st emperor in his afterlife. But Xian was also the start of the ancient Silk Road, which wound its way through Central Asia. And that road ended in Isfahan. For me personally, it was very fulfilling to tell myself that I had been to both the beginning and the end of the Silk Road. Xian and Isfahan are twin cities.

Today, we find the idea of the Silk Road being revived.

After the Strait of Hormuz was closed, Pakistan opened up 6 land corridors to facilitate the movement of goods between Pakistan, China, Russia and other Central Asian countries with Iran. This happened on 26 April 2026. Today, 3000 containers which were previously held up because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz are on the move because of these land corridors. Thousands of trucks are delivering much needed goods and supplies to people in the region.

The revival of the ancient Silk Road finds expression also in the amazing 10,400 km railway that China has built to connect itself, many of the Central Asian countries, and Iran ( see diagram below ). This railway is now operational. Trade between Eurasian countries will be overland and not confined to the seas.

With all these overland trade routes, Iran will never be strangled by Trump’s naval blockade. Iran is bordered by 7 countries and there are also other outlets through the Caspian Sea and other routes which I will not elaborate here.

With its varied topography, Iran is also largely self-sufficient in food, unlike its Arab neighbours. Neither does it have to depend significantly on desalination plants for water.

I am looking forward to seeing Iran becoming prosperous again once this war ends. I see the potential for Iran to be the China of the Middle-East. The potential for this nation with a very young population of 93 million are limitless. And I want to visit Iran again to see its potential realised.