Tough economic sanctions the US and European Union imposed on Russia and Iran have succeeded in cutting off those nations from much of the world economy. But they’ve also had an unintended effect: Moscow and Tehran are now joining forces to evade some of the crippling trade restrictions. 

They’re investing billions of dollars on an 1,800-mile trade route that enables them to move products of all kinds over land and water that’s beyond the reach of the West–to buyers in the fast-growing economies of Asia.

Bloomberg journalists Golnar Motevalli in London and Jonathan Tirone in Vienna join this episode to describe how this new trade route operates. And Dr. Maria Shagina, an expert in sanctions, explains how sanctions work–and whether Iran and Russia can ultimately succeed in outmaneuvering the West.

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