Iran's Interests
Situated in the cradle of Central Asia, Iran is poised to play a pivotal
role in the development of the Caspian’s resources.
Endowed with bountiful oil and gas reserves in the south, Iran views the
Caspian Sea’s resource as primarily an opportunity for diplomatic advancement,
although it could substantially boost its economy by charging transit fees.
As the only littoral state with warm water access, Iran would like to cooperate
with its neighbors to help transport the hydrocarbons to market.
However, Iran’s rivalries with the United States,
Turkey,
and Russia could prevent Iran from taking a leadership
role in the region. The 1997 election of a moderate president, Mohammed
Khatami, has raised hopes that these rivalries, especially the one most
bitter -- the one with the US -- could abate. Iran has sought to improve
relations and foster economic cooperation with its neighbors, particularly
Turkey, and with the other newly independent states of the region.
For the time being, however, the US continues to pursue policies in Central
Asia aimed to exclude Iran, primarily through sanctions imposed both by
Executive Orders and through the Iran-Libya Sanctions
Act. If US-Iranian relations do improve to such an extent that the
sanctions could be dropped, all parties will stand to benefit, as discussed
in the further sections of this report. Yet, at present, relations
with the US remain hostile, despite some steps taken by both Iran and the
US government in 1998 to develop a "road map to better relations" (a phrase
used by Secretary of State, Madeline Albright).
Iran Links