The U.S. is trying to choke off Iran’s economy at sea, but a growing China-linked rail corridor is giving Tehran a workaround that Washington cannot easily shut down without risking a wider conflict.

As freight traffic between China and Iran increases along an overland route beyond the reach of American warships, the dynamic is exposing a core limitation in the U.S. strategy: maritime pressure is powerful, but it doesn’t fully extend across Eurasia.

According to Bloomberg, cargo trains running from central China to Iran have jumped from roughly one per week before the blockade to one every three or four days, highlighting a growing alternative channel as Tehran looks to blunt maritime pressure.

The corridor runs through multiple sovereign countries, including Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, making it far more complex to disrupt than shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf.

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Directly targeting that overland network would risk widening the conflict and escalating tensions with Beijing, which has spent years investing in trade routes designed to bypass maritime choke points dominated by the U.S. Navy.

That combination of geography, diplomacy and escalation risk helps explain why Washington has focused overwhelmingly on maritime interdiction rather than attempting to shut down overland trade routes.

Experts say the rail corridor remains limited in its ability to offset Iran’s main oil exports.

The U.S. is trying to choke off Iran’s economy at sea, but a growing China-linked rail corridor is giving Tehran a workaround that Washington can’t easily shut down without risking a wider conflict. (Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Getty Images:Amr Alfiky/Reuters)

«There’s no substitute for a very large crude carrier,» Isaac Kardon, a senior fellow focused on Chinese strategy and maritime security, told Fox News Digital.

Kardon estimated that «maybe like 1% of the exports that Iran would typically be pushing out through Hormuz could go over land.»

Max Meizlish, a former Treasury official focused on sanctions policy, similarly described the rail corridor as «a drop in the bucket compared to Iran’s traditional oil exports over maritime transit routes.»

TRUMP WARNS CHINA OF ‘STAGGERING’ 50% TARIFF IF CAUGHT SUPPLYING MILITARY AID TO IRAN

The U.S. military has been enforcing a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, even during the ceasefire. (U.S. Central Command)

Still, analysts warn the route carries strategic risks beyond its limited scale.

Meizlish said the rail network «provides a pathway for China to supply Iran with critical dual use goods or just military logistical infrastructure» beyond the reach of U.S. naval enforcement.

Kardon pointed to similar concerns, including the potential movement of «parts for drones» and «missile precursor chemicals.»

Even so, Kardon emphasized the corridor cannot sustain large-scale economic or military flows.

A timelapse video shows marine vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz. (Kpler/Marine Traffic)

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«It’s a flow question,» he said. «Can you sustain the Iranian war-fighting effort solely with cargoes from China or from its other Eurasian neighbors? And I think the answer is really no.»

Taken together, the rail corridor is not an economic lifeline for Iran, but it underscores a broader shift as China builds trade networks designed to blunt U.S. pressure at sea and test the limits of how far Washington is willing to go to enforce its strategy.

The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, dijo este viernes que habló sobre el delicado tema de Taiwán con su homólogo chino, Xi Jinping, durante la cumbre bilateral en Pekín. “No quiere una guerra en Taiwán”, indicó.

“El presidente Xi y yo hablamos mucho sobre Taiwán”, dijo Trump a los periodistas a bordo del Air Force One, de regreso a Washington. “Él no quiere ver una lucha por la independencia”, agregó. “Yo no hice ningún comentario al respecto, lo escuché”.

Trump añadió: “En cuanto a Taiwán, él tiene sentimientos muy fuertes; yo no asumí ningún compromiso en ningún sentido”.

Antes de la cumbre, Trump había dicho que hablaría con Xi sobre la venta de armas estadounidenses a Taiwán, afirmaciones que se alejaban de la postura histórica de Washington de no consultar a Pekín sobre ese asunto.

Hablando con los periodistas, de camino a Washington, Trump dijo sobre el tema de la venta de armas: “Tomaré una decisión en un periodo de tiempo relativamente corto”.

Estados Unidos solo reconoce a China, pero su legislación le exige proporcionar armas a la democracia autogobernada de Taiwán para su defensa. China ha jurado recuperar la isla y no ha descartado el uso de la fuerza, incrementando la presión militar en los últimos años.

Trump también afirmó que Xi está firmemente convencido de que Irán no debería poseer armas nucleares. “Él está firmemente convencido de que no pueden tener armas nucleares y quiere que abran el estrecho”, declaró el norteamericano, refiriéndose al estrecho de Ormuz, una vía marítima clave bloqueada por la guerra.

En otro orden, manifestó que está considerando levantar sanciones a las empresas chinas que compran petróleo iraní y que tomará una decisión al respecto en breve, sin dar más detalles, indicó Reuters. Tras ser consultado, dijo que no habló de aranceles con Xi.

Más temprano, el jefe de Estado norteamericano indicó que alcanzó “acuerdos comerciales fantásticos” con el líder chino durante la jornada final de la cumbre celebrada en Beijing, en un encuentro marcado además por la guerra en Irán, la situación del estrecho de Ormuz y las advertencias chinas sobre Taiwán.

“Cerramos unos acuerdos comerciales fantásticos, excelentes para ambos países”, declaró Trump mientras recorría junto a Xi los jardines de Zhongnanhai, el complejo central del liderazgo chino ubicado junto a la Ciudad Prohibida. “Hemos resuelto muchos problemas diferentes que otras personas no habrían podido resolver”, añadió, aunque sin ofrecer detalles concretos sobre los pactos.

La visita representó el primer viaje de un presidente estadounidense a China desde 2017 y tuvo como eje central las negociaciones económicas en sectores como agricultura, aviación, energía e inteligencia artificial. Trump también buscó apoyo chino para abordar la crisis en Medio Oriente y el impacto de la guerra con Irán sobre el comercio energético mundial.

Xi calificó el encuentro como una “visita histórica” y afirmó que ambas potencias establecieron “una nueva relación bilateral, que es una relación de estabilidad estratégica constructiva”. Durante la reunión, el mandatario chino también prometió enviar semillas para la Rosaleda de la Casa Blanca después de conversar con Trump sobre las flores de los jardines de Zhongnanhai.

La cuestión iraní ocupó parte importante de las conversaciones. En una entrevista con Fox News tras la primera jornada de la cumbre, Donald Trump aseguró que Xi Jinping le transmitió que China no planea brindar asistencia militar a Teherán en medio de la crisis regional. “Dijo que no suministraría material militar (…) Lo afirmó con rotundidad”, señaló Trump. El mandatario estadounidense agregó además que Xi manifestó disposición para colaborar en la reapertura del estrecho de Ormuz, una vía marítima clave para el comercio mundial de hidrocarburos.

“Le gustaría que se abriera el estrecho de Ormuz, y dijo: ‘Si puedo ser de alguna ayuda, estaré encantado de ayudar’”, afirmó Trump.

Por su parte, el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de China publicó este viernes un comunicado en el que reclamó “un alto el fuego integral y duradero” en Medio Oriente. “Las rutas marítimas deben reabrirse lo antes posible en respuesta a los llamamientos de la comunidad internacional”, indicó el texto.

President Donald Trump is leaning on Congress to tee up an affordability win ahead of November’s midterm elections, but entrenched GOP disagreement on a sweeping housing proposal threatens to derail it. 

Trump on Monday called on the House to swiftly approve Senate-passed legislation aimed at easing housing affordability that has languished in the lower chamber for several months. House Republicans, however, have balked at that request and are pitching a rival plan. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., teased earlier in the week that Republicans and Democrats would come together to bring a «bipartisan, bicameral bill to the president’s desk.»  

«I think everybody feels like it’s important, so we’re just working out some nuances,» Johnson said.

TRUMP-BACKED AFFORDABLE HOUSING OVERHAUL CLEARS SENATE, WHILE HOUSE GOP RAISES RED FLAGS

Senior House lawmakers on Thursday unveiled a modified version of the Senate’s 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which is expected to receive a vote in the lower chamber as early as next week. 

Any changes to the Senate’s proposal would force the upper chamber to consider the measure again, prolonging the timeline lawmakers can send legislation to Trump’s desk.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the chief architects of the Senate’s bill, declined to say whether she was speaking with her counterparts in the House about tweaks to the bill, and argued that lawmakers were running out of time to do something.

«There’s a housing crisis out there,» Warren said. «This bill can pass today if the House would just put it on the floor and vote on it.
We need to get started, and if the House has more ideas than they’d like to add, start another bill.» 

Some GOP lawmakers are not sweating the wait.

«We cannot take the Senate bill to the floor,» House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital in an interview earlier this week.

The political dynamics are much different in the Senate, however. And the housing bill passed with fewer than a dozen defectors in March — a rare feat in such a hyper-partisan Congress. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that the easiest route to putting the legislation on Trump’s desk is passing the Senate’s version.

«It’s been sitting over there for a while and the president’s weighed in on it. I think, you know, the White House made it clear, they would like to see the House pick up and pass the Senate bill,» Thune said. «We’ve done what we can do. It’s in the court of the House now.»

The House product struck out a controversial provision taking aim at the build-to-rent market that drew the opposition of conservatives, who argued the language amounted to excessive government interference in the housing market.

The clause in the Senate’s proposal would have specifically required some developers to sell single-family homes built for the purpose of renting within seven years after construction. The build-to-rent industry and opponents of the provision argued their properties provide a more affordable option for some Americans priced out of the housing market and could imperil the supply of rentals across the country.

«We’ve got to make sure we do it in a right way that continues to keep free markets,» Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, said, adding that the clause in the Senate bill could make it «impossible» for some people to access housing.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are pitching rival housing bills as President Donald Trump looks for a legislative win on affordability. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Kent Nishimura/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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The proposal, however, would also weaken a ban on large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes — a priority of the Trump administration.

The House’s rival housing bill notably preserves a ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) through 2030 that was included in the Senate’s legislation.

House conservatives raged at the Senate bill for stopping short of enacting a permanent CBDC ban — a top priority of GOP privacy hawks, who have sought to add the language to various legislative vehicles.

«It has to be permanent,» Cloud said. «We’ve got to put the nail in the coffin on it.»

House Financial Services Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., a co-author of the House’s rival housing package, said he shared Trump’s goal of expanding access to affordable homeownership in a statement Thursday.

«It cuts unnecessary barriers to new home construction, modernizes HUD programs, and allows banks to more freely deploy funding into their communities,» Hill said regarding the lower chamber’s proposal. «We must get this right — and I am committed to working hard to do that.»

Not everyone in the Senate is upset by the House’s decision to modify the bill. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., was one of the few lawmakers to vote against the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, and told Fox News Digital that housing affordability isn’t something that’s dictated by the federal government.

Prospective buyers arrive during an open house in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., on May 9, 2026, amid rising mortgage rates that could slow the spring home sales season. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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«If you wanted to actually reduce housing costs, it’s local governments who are gonna have to allow more houses to be built,» Scott said. 

The legislative standoff comes as a recent Fox News poll found that nearly 80% of voters said housing costs were a problem for them or their family. The same survey also found that Democrats hold a lead over Republicans on inflation and the economy.