Iranian firm moves to take full control of Russia’s Caspian port terminal

Nasim Bahr Kish, an Iranian firm that holds a controlling stake in Russia's Astrakhan Port, has submitted an offer to acquire the remaining shares, including a 25 per cent stake owned by the Russian state, the company's records showed on Tuesday.

Astrakhan Port owns a sea terminal in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan.

The move underscores Tehran's increasing involvement in Russia's export infrastructure as the two countries deepen economic ties under Western sanctions. The news was first reported by Russian newspaper Kommersant.

The deal, worth approximately RUB437.5 million ($5.6 million) would give the Iranian firm full control over one of the key Caspian Sea terminals, used for transshipping grain, metals, timber, and fertilizers.

In the 2023/2024 agricultural season, the terminal handled around 275,000 tonnes of grain, but volumes dropped to 139,500 tonnes in the current season, with no shipments in May.

The Caspian Sea is a traditional route for transporting Russian grain to Iran.

Grain shipments through the route sharply declined in the second half of 2025 due to a temporary export ban on barley and corn imposed by Russia, but analysts expect a rebound in the 2025/2026 agricultural season, partly due to a crop decline in Iran this year.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Olga Popova; Editing by David Evans)