Chapter 3: Persian Gulf, Arabian Peninsula
Iran: Infrastructure
Railroads, Roads
/ Waterways, Ports / Airports
/ Communications
Overview
/ Leadership / System Essentials
/ Population / Fielded Forces
/ Table of Contents
Petroleum is the engine that drives the Iranian economy
Railroads
Iran has a total of 4,852 km of railway, most of which is single tracked. The major north-south line is the Trans-Iranian railway which runs for approx. 1400 km from Bandar Turkman on the Caspian Sea in the north down through Tehran and on southwards to Bandar Imam Khomeini on the Persian Gulf. The major east-west link will be the Qom-Zahedan Line which, when completed, will link Europe and Turkey with India via Iran. 1000 km of the line is completed, linking Qom to Kerman.
Roads
Major national highways are the northern A1 highway (2100 km), which runs from Basargan on the Turkish border to the Afghanistan border, and the southern A2 highway (2500 km), which links the Iraqi border with Mir Javeh on the Pakistan border.
Waterways
The principle navigable river in Iran is the Karun River which flows south through the oil fields into the Shatt al Arab waterway which empties into the Persian Gulf near Abadan. The river is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km.
Ports
Iran's main oil terminal is Kharg Island. Her busiest commercial port is Bandar Shahid Rajai which handles 75% of the cargo passing through Iran's Persian Gulf ports. Khorramshahr, Iran's largest capacity port, has been repaired after being largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and has been in limited operation since November 1992.
Airports
Iran has 80 hard-surface runways, 17 of which are over 3700 m long. Iran's major international airports are located in Tehran and Abadan. Three other major international airports are under construction at Tabas, Ardebil, and Ilam.
Communications
Microwave radio relay extends throughout country with the system centered in Tehran. Her communications system includes:
- Approximately 35 telephones in use per 1,000 persons.
- 77 AM, 3 FM, 28 TV broadcast stations
- Satellite earth stations
- 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
- 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT
- HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
- Submarine fiber optic cable to UAE
