TEHRAN – A senior Iranian military advisor says competition among trade corridors has turned into a pivotal issue in today’s world.

“Today’s world is grappling with a new competition known as the war of corridors, a competition specified by railways, marine routes and transit roads,” said Major General Yahya Safavi, a senior aide and advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

The top general also highlighted the ever-growing significance of Iran’s geopolitical situation, saying countries which enjoy a good geographical situation and security can best reap the benefits of trade corridors.

Iran's special geographical location, being situated along the international corridors of North-South and East-West which connect West Asia to East, Asia and Europe, has provided a special transit place for the country. Iran's railway network in the west links with Turkey and to Europe; in the northwest to Azerbaijan; in the north to the Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia; in the northeast to Turkmenistan and Central Asia, Russia and China; in the southeast to Pakistan and in the south to the Persian Gulf and the open waters of the world.

The potential income of Iran's rail transit from trade exchanges between East Asian countries and Europe through the East-West corridor is estimated at about $1.8 billion and through the North-South corridor at about $90 million a year.

This shows how important the East-West corridor is to Iran. Currently, Sarakhs-Bandar Abbas is the most active rail corridor in Iran, providing 80 percent of the country’s transit revenues.

General Safavi added Iran, with reliance on its unique situation connecting the East and the West as well as the North and the South, can serve as the pivot of a new balance in the region.

Emerging economic powers such as China and India, which are the main parties pursuing the completion of corridors in the region, are trying to arrange multiple routes for their trade.

Even though none of the trade routes in the region can replace those through Iran, parallel routes can reduce the transit benefits of the country.

Therefore, Iran's delay in securing its share of transit in the region would benefit its competitors and seriously underline the country’s national interests.

Iran’s geographical location on the path of both the East-West and North-South corridors is definitely unmatched, which can also avail the passage of combined corridors, especially in view of the economic, security and time-saving advantages which the country has.

However, the precedence given to political observations by some parties has created problems, which calls for robust political parleys and expansion of political and economic relations to keep Iran in the centerpiece of the regional connectivity plans.

Any failure can deprive Iran of numerous benefits in this regard, although the exclusion the Islamic Republic from the regional connectivity map would incur grave costs for the other parties.