Shahram Khaldi, a researcher in the history of the Middle East and international relations, said Massoud Pezeshkian’s trip to Turkmenistan is more an attempt to convey a reduction in the effects of a maritime blockade than a real solution to economic pressures.

He added that the Islamic Republic might be able to use the capacities of Caspian Sea ports and rail routes such as Sarakhs and Inchehboron, but compared to the scale of cargo movement through the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, these routes are very limited. According to Khaldi, relations among the Central Asian countries with the West, Russia, and China also limit Tehran’s capacity to bypass sanctions and the blockade.