Official: Iran to start constructing Iran- Iraq railway line

Deputy head of Iran Railways company, Mazyar Yazdani said Monday that President, Hassan Rouhani has ordered to start constructing the railway line from the Iranian port of  Shalamcheh to the city of Basra in Iraq.

Yazdani explained that the Shalamcheh-Basra railway line will be 32 kilometres long and will cost 2200 billion riyals, Iranian Fars news agency reported.

According to the Iranian official, Tehran will construct the railway line in Iran and Iraq and give it as a gift to Iraq but the Iraqi side has to cover the construction expenses later.

According to Yazdani after the project is completed, there will be a rail line between Iran, Iraq and Syria that extends to the port of Latakia on the Mediterranean Sea.

Iran has been trying to counter the repercussions of the sanctions imposed by the United States on Monday by relying on its regional network of relations, especially in Iraq and Syria.

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