TRIPP project: What is Trump pursuing in the Caucasus?

The Arax River roars between Armenia and Iran, cutting through the mountains in bends and rapids beside barbed wire and watchtowers. In this stark border landscape, Donald Trump wants a railway and pipelines built as part of the TRIPP project.

On the Iranian side, green fields line the river, and farmers use its water for agriculture. Apartment blocks and makeshift huts stand farther back, their brown, makeshift appearance matching the steppe. Rust-colored Soviet-era rail wagons sit in the no-man’s-land, reminders of the railway that once ran through the area.

The Armenian side has a country road, barriers and guard towers before the terrain rises sharply into the mountains. The proposed project would place major transport and energy infrastructure in this contested border setting, where geography and security are impossible to separate.

The project combines geopolitical ambition with the prospect of profit. Its scale and location make the plan appear audacious, extending from the immediate realities of the Armenian-Iranian frontier into a broader contest over regional connections and influence.