Iran and the IMEC Corridor: An Analysis of Positions and Challenges

The India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a strategic project announced at the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi. It aims to enhance economic connectivity between India, the Middle East, and Europe. This corridor links Asia to Europe via the Middle East, making it one of the most important global trade routes. Despite its economic potential, the corridor presents a theater of strategic and security-related confrontations. Iran, which has been excluded from the project, adopts an oppositional stance due to its geopolitical and economic implications on the country’s regional influence. This study aims to explore and analyze Iran’s position on the India–Europe Corridor project by examining its geopolitical, security, and economic dimensions and their impact on Iran’s regional interests. It also assesses Iran’s alternative strategies, particularly the North–South Corridor, to understand how the country is responding to this regional and international challenge. The significance of this research stems from the strategic location of the Middle East and Iran’s vital geographic and economic role in regional trade corridors. The study is further contextualized within the framework of major geopolitical shifts that are redrawing the maps of influence and competition among global and regional powers. The study is based on the hypothesis that the IMEC poses a direct threat to Iran’s strategic position, prompting it to adopt multifaceted strategies to maintain its trade and diplomatic presence and avoid isolation. The research is structured into an introduction and four main sections. The first section addresses the general background of the India–Europe Corridor and its strategic and economic objectives. The second section highlights Iran’s geographic position and its importance in regional and international trade. The third section focuses on Iran’s stance on the project and analyzes its political and economic responses. The fourth section examines the potential dimensions and risks the corridor may pose to Iran’s interests, particularly in the fields of economics, geopolitics, and regional security.