Ultimately, it was Iran and not Pakistan that ended up being the global pivot state after the latter abandoned this role upon the successful US-orchestrated regime change against former Prime Minister Khan, thus ceding it entirely to the neighboring Islamic Republic that’s now closely cooperating with Islamabad’s Indian rivals to create a third pole of influence with Russia.
Iran’s Deputy Permanent UN Representative Zahra Ershadi proudly embraced her country’s geo-economic role in integrating Eurasia while speaking before that global body on Monday. The following are the most relevant excerpts from her speech:
“My delegation attaches great importance to the issue of connectivity between Central and South Asia as well as the comprehensive and consistent development of ties in all areas between the Central and South Asian states based on the spirit of traditional friendship between peoples of the two regions with the purpose of strengthening historical and cultural bonds.
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We are of the view that connectivity plays a key role in trade, economic growth and sustainable development enhances regional cooperation and fosters friendly relations between neighboring states, and in this regard, we highlight the important role of regional organizations such as ECO in enhancing inter and intra-regional connectivity.
My delegation also encourages the continuation and advancement of the Central and South Asia cooperation by expanding transport and communication infrastructure and international transport corridors that open convenient, commercially and safe routes to seaports such as Termez-Mazare-Sharif-Herat-Zahedan-Chabahar, and Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Pakistan railways.
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Iran, with its unique capacities, potential and capabilities, and as an important connecting bridge between Central Asia and South Asia, is ready to help promote the connectivity between these two important regions.”
Her remarks are significant since they confirm that Iran is eager to fulfill its destiny by more closely connecting the supercontinent through the North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC), the flagship geo-economic project between itself, Russia, India, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, and the Central Asian Republics.
The unprecedented US-led Western sanctions against Russia imposed in response to its ongoing special military operation in Ukraine geo-economically revolutionized Eurasia by making Iran indispensable to that targeted Great Power. Its Transportation Minister even noted in late May that the NSTC is his country’s only remaining viable international logistics corridor to the wider world, which just entered into operation on Tuesday upon the completion of last month’s trial phase.
The day prior, the Reserve Bank of India officially internationalized the rupee by creating a settlement system for using it in trade with the Central Asian Republics, Iran, Russia, and the rest of South Asia. All of this comes in the run-up to President Putin’s trip to Tehran next week to participate in the latest round of the Syrian peace process alongside his Iranian and Turkish counterparts, during which time he’s also expected to meet with President Raisi to discuss the NSTC more at length.
That’s because this geo-economic megaproject is about much more than just facilitating Russian-Indian trade since it has the potential to serve as the basis for those two and Iran to jointly create a third pole of influence in the present bi-multipolar intermediary phase of the global systemic transition to multipolarity. This will in turn facilitate their shared goal of midwifing a tripolar order prior to the inevitable evolution towards complex multipolarity (“multiplexity”).
Iran has therefore suddenly found itself playing an unparalleled role in the global systemic transition due to its geostrategic location that imbues it with disproportionate geo-economic influence in shaping the emerging Multipolar World Order. Unlike neighboring Pakistan whose post-modern coup authorities don’t share former Prime Minister Khan’s view of their country as the global pivot state and have thus squandered its once-in-a-century opportunity to advance that grand strategic vision, Iran is ready to act.
To that end, it’s hosted Central Asian leaders, dispatched its Foreign Minister to India, pioneered alternative financial platforms, and is now ready to welcome President Putin. By contrast, Pakistan started practicing a semi-isolationist foreign policy that neutralized its previously promising role in the global systemic transition as its stakeholders sought instead to prioritize cracking down on the ousted premier’s supporters through very harsh means in a failed attempt to resolve the political crisis there.
Ultimately, it was Iran and not Pakistan that ended up being the global pivot state after the latter abandoned this role upon the successful US-orchestrated regime change against former Prime Minister Khan, thus ceding it entirely to the neighboring Islamic Republic that’s now closely cooperating with Islamabad’s Indian rivals to create a third pole of influence with Russia. This observation shows that geo-economic processes will continue in spite of unexpected obstacles so long as the political will is present.
In this case, Iran picked up the baton that America knocked out of Pakistan’s hand and decided to share it with India so that those two could jointly revive the previously stalled North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) in order to relieve Western sanctions pressure upon their shared Russian partner. By proudly embracing its geo-economic destiny unlike Pakistan’s post-coup authorities who abruptly abandoned theirs, Iran is poised to become among the world’s most influential multipolar forces in the future.