Saudi Arabia is exploring a significant shift in the proposed India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), seeking to sideline Israel from the trade initiative by rerouting the corridor through Syria instead, according to two sources familiar with the discussions who spoke to The Jerusalem Post.
The IMEC, unveiled by then-US president Joe Biden during the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023, was conceived as a transformative infrastructure and trade project linking India with Europe through the Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The initiative envisioned a network of railways, ports, and shipping lanes connecting India to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Greece, providing a faster alternative to traditional maritime routes while strengthening economic integration across the region.
From its inception, Israel's role in IMEC was viewed as inseparable from a broader US-backed effort to broker normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Under the original blueprint, freight would travel by rail from Saudi Arabia through Jordan into Israel before being shipped to European markets via the Port of Haifa, positioning Israel as a critical logistical gateway between Asia and Europe.
But nearly three years after the project was announced, the regional landscape has changed dramatically. The war in Gaza and the collapse of momentum toward Israeli-Saudi normalization have forced Riyadh to reassess the route of the project.
According to the two sources, Saudi officials are now actively examining alternatives that would remove Israel from the corridor.
A potential railway through Syria
One of the leading options under discussion would redirect the railway through Syria, creating a land bridge from the Gulf to the Mediterranean without passing through Israeli territory.
This reflects Riyadh's willingness to explore new regional alignments as prospects for normalization with Israel remain uncertain and the Hormuz Strait, Persian Gulf, and Bab el-Mandeb are becoming unstable.
"They are contemplating different options - one of them is Syria," a source with knowledge of the discussions told the Post.
The Saudis' decision underscores how shifting geopolitical realities are reshaping one of the most ambitious connectivity projects launched in recent years.
If implemented, rerouting IMEC through Syria would represent a major strategic setback for Israel, which had expected the corridor to become both an economic asset and a cornerstone of deeper regional integration following a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.