Israel’s March strike on Iran’s Bandar Anzali naval hub highlighted a rarely monitored supply corridor: the Caspian Sea. With the Persian Gulf choked by U.S. naval presence, Russia has turned the inland lake into a conduit for military and commercial cargo supporting Tehran. Satellite‑tracking groups note vessels routinely switch off transponders, making the flow opaque to Western observers and facilitate covert arms transfers.

U.S. officials say Moscow ships drone components across the lake, helping Iran replace roughly 60% of a drone fleet lost in recent combat. At the same time, Russian wheat shipments have rerouted from the Black Sea, with 2 million tons now arriving via Caspian ports such as Bandar Anzali, bolstering Iran’s food supply amid sanctions and sustain Tehran’s regional projects.

Iranian officials report four Caspian ports operating round‑the‑clock to import wheat, corn, sunflower oil and animal feed, while Russian trade analysts predict cargo volumes could double this year. The hidden route gives Moscow and Tehran a hedge against Western embargoes, but its opacity also raises enforcement challenges for the United States, which lacks jurisdiction over the lake’s waters, making the corridor a strategic asset.