
The story behind the Trans-Iranian Railway, one of the greatest engineering feats of the 20th century
CNN
The spectacular Trans-Iranian Railway joined an illustrious club when it gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status in July. Here's why the accolade is richly deserved.
(CNN) — It may not be as long or as well-known as Russia's iconic Trans-Siberian Railway. But international recognition is long overdue for the 1,394-kilometer (865-mile) Trans-Iranian Railway. On July 25, the railway was one of 33 new sites awarded World Heritage status by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), joining world famous locations such as Venice, Machu Picchu in Peru, Yellowstone National Park in the US and Ecuador's Galapagos Islands. Linking the Persian Gulf with the Caspian Sea, the strategically important project was a relative latecomer in railway terms. It opened in 1938 after 11 years of hugely challenging construction.
The retired Air Force general announced as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Donald Trump after the abrupt Friday night firing of his predecessor is a respected career F-16 pilot who is described by current and former officials who served with him as a professional with a “strong moral center.”
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Over the past 10 days, Vice President JD Vance put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on notice, rattled the confidence of century-old allies in Western Europe during his first foreign trip, decamped to Capitol Hill to help in delicate budget talks and delivered a spirited defense of the Trump administration’s first month to a gathering of conservatives outside the nation’s capital.