Araujia sericifera, an alien species in Europe and Western Asia, is a perennial climbing vine that aggressively overgrows and shades native vegetation, causing substantial biodiversity loss. Its global distribution reveals five invasion hotspots, with a major hotspot extending from Western Europe to northern Iran. Historical records indicate a gradual eastward expansion along the Mediterranean corridor through Western Asia. Habitat suitability modelling, based on climate and land cover variables, identifies a continuous belt of high suitability from Portugal through southern Europe into Western Asia, particularly in coastal and lowland regions. In Iran, the southern Caspian Sea coast, including Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan provinces, represents a major area of invasion risk, with high suitability closely matching recent occurrence records. The species' climatic niche is characterised by winter temperatures above -10 degrees C, summer temperatures below 35 C, and precipitation exceeding 20 mm during the driest month. It avoids extremely arid regions and areas with monsoonal rainfall exceeding 800 mm in the wettest month, showing a strong association with urban environments. Although historical dispersal followed a primarily longitudinal pattern, climate change projections indicate high potential for northward expansion. Given its rapid spread, high ecological suitability in the vulnerable Hyrcanian Forests along the southern Caspian Sea, and strong association with anthropogenic landscapes, intensified monitoring and targeted management are recommended to prevent further negative impacts.