This policy brief presents findings from an ongoing XCEPT research project examining the emerging trade pathway linking Iraq to Syrian and Lebanese ports on the Mediterranean. For more than a decade, analysis of this geography has focused on the movement of weapons, fighters and illicit goods along a land bridge extending Iran’s reach toward the Mediterranean. The fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 broke the land bridge at its center, bringing to power a Syrian government keen to develop the country’s role as a regional transit hub. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in 2026 then forced Iraq to reroute oil exports overland through Syria. Damascus welcomed the convoys as an opportunity to advance its transit ambitions, while Lebanon has sought a share of the emerging energy trade. The prospect of a “Levant Corridor” built around expanded trade ties has begun to take shape; however, significant challenges remain.
Drawing on 71 interviews with policymakers, border officials, traders and transport operators across the three countries, this brief develops a pathway forward to improve overland transport infrastructures. Interviewees described delays of days or weeks at border crossings, inadequate inspection and logistics facilities, and deteriorating roads. The fiscal and political pressures facing all three governments leave little scope to upgrade every crossing at once. We therefore argue that investment should be concentrated on the crossings most important to the corridor, with attention to the security and political conditions along each route. The durability of the Levant Corridor will ultimately require Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut to align their infrastructure priorities, particularly at crossings where investment on one side depends on corresponding work on the other.
This brief focuses on those infrastructure decisions. Customs procedures, documentation requirements and payment systems will be the focus of the next brief in this series.
The full policy brief is available below.
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