A Preliminary Assessment of the Expansion of Iran’s Eastbound Railway to Pakistan under the Second Pahlavi

Although, in the early years of the twentieth century, Iran’s eastbound railway was meant to enhance the transit of goods between Iran and India, Pakistan’s divorce from the latter in 1947 put an end this ambition. Iran endeavored to improve political relations to the east in an effort to stabilize the eastern borders. It was, however, during the 70s oil crisis and the ensuing boom in Iranian economy that drove the Iranian government towards the re-invigoration of this trade route. The current article seeks to study economic and political measures adopted by the Pahlavi government during the 70s which aimed at rebuilding this transit route to the countries in the Indian ocean region. This research draws heavily upon historical documents and archives and the findings suggest that after improving its political relations with countries in the Indian ocean region in the 70s and thanks to rising oil prices, Iran initiated various development plans, such as economic and technical initiatives, to restart the eastbound railway again; an ambition that ended when the political landscape was overwhelmed by 1978-1979 developments in the two countries.