From bluster to railways: Iran tones down talk of attacking Israel - analysis

Iran has toned down its threat from two weeks ago to “retaliate” against Israel. The regime of the ayatollahs has appeared to shift gears – at least in rhetoric – since the US election on November 5.

Iran attacked Israel with 180 ballistic missiles on October 1. When Israel retaliated, Tehran claimed it would “retaliate” as well, leading to a potential cycle of direct attacks.

Iran might be rethinking some of its tactics and strategy in this regard. On Saturday, the main issue Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had on his desk was a railway link that Tehran has been working on for years.

Pezeshkian “has called for efforts to expedite the construction of a key railway project in the north of the country,” the regime’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported. “The Iranian president made these remarks during a meeting with the minister of Roads and Urban Development and Iran’s ambassador to Russia on Saturday.”

Iran wants this link with Russia, which is called the Rasht-Astara railway, because it can aid its north-south economic trade corridor. The railway is part of a much larger series of projects that would link Iran to Russia via the Caucasus.

“Pezeshkian stressed the need to speed up land acquisition operations along the route of the Rasht-Astara railway,” IRNA reported.

Facing hurdles

Nevertheless, Iran faces hurdles even in this relatively simple project. Pezeshkian was told there are limited resources for “land acquisition” needed for the project.

This illustrates Iran’s major problem in the future. Tehran signed a 25-year deal with China, and it wants to expand trade with Russia and other countries linked to the BRICS economic group.

Iran is still a relatively poor country, however, and the incoming Trump administration is likely going to want to increase sanctions against it and reduce its trade. As a result, Tehran is running to try to seal deals before the Trump administration takes office.

“Kazem Jalali, Iran’s ambassador to Russia, also reported on the Russian commitment to the project, emphasizing their eagerness to expedite freight transport routes from the south,” IRNA reported. “Iran and Russia see the 162-km. Rasht-Astara railway as an important link in the International North-South Transport Corridor.”

In other news published by state media in Tehran, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said it “has transitioned plasma technology from research to industrial application, inaugurating the country’s first plasma-based dry fruit processing and decontamination plant in Rafsanjan.”

This relates to using technology for pistachio orchards and the processing of their products, IRNA reported.

The Iranian official “expressed hope that it will mitigate damage to exports and encourage broader adoption of plasma technology in agriculture,” the report said. “The factory aims to process up to 6,000 tons of nuts annually in its initial phase. It can handle a range of products, including pistachios, almonds, peanuts, corn, grains, oilseeds, and legumes, with a processing capacity of three tons per hour.”

The head of the AEOI, Mohammad Eslami, said: “The AEOI is deeply committed to leveraging nuclear technology to address domestic challenges and to enhance the quality of life for our citizens.”

Based on that statement, Iran might be obfuscating because it wants to ramp up its nuclear program in the coming months. Alternatively, Tehran might be focusing on domestic industries as part of rhetoric that is intended to create the impression it is not escalating the situation.