Even though Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is trying to improve relations with Pakistan amid tensions with Israel, Iran is surrounded from all sides. Its relations with Israel are bad. There is an old enmity with Saudi Arabia. Relations with western countries including America are sour. Not only this, neighboring Muslim countries Azerbaijan and Armenia are also included in the list of staunch enemies of Iran. Overall, Iran is wavering badly on the world’s diplomatic path. As far as the reason for this is concerned, it is Caucasian politics. After all, is this Caucasian politics? understand…
If we do a little geographical analysis of the matter, we will come to know that Iran, a Shia-dominated country located in Western Asia, shares its borders with the Caspian Sea in the north, the Persian Gulf in the south and the Gulf of Oman. Apart from Afghanistan and Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Iraq are also its border countries. Iran is mainly an area of plateau and rough land. This poor geographical condition also affects its social and political scenario. In fact, Shia-dominated Iran has been considered an unimportant and minority country in the Islamic group since the beginning. Iran, which led the Islamic Revolution under Ayatollah Khomeini, has now lost its importance and strength due to its conservative culture. In other words, Iran’s geographical location traps it in the web of Caucasian politics.
Know The Caucasus politics…
The Caucasus is a mountain range on the border of Europe and Asia, stretching between the Caspian Sea in the east and the Black Sea in the west. Iran’s other neighboring countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Chechnya etc. are also located in this region. Under Stalin’s plan, many areas of the Caucasus had joined the Soviet Union in the past. At the time of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, nationalist sentiments developed in the Muslim-majority countries of Azerbaijan, Chechnya and Georgia located in the Caucasus region. The majority of Azerbaijan’s population are Shia Muslims, but it is closer to Israel than Iran. Azerbaijan recalled its diplomats from Tehran in 2023 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran’s closeness to Russia.
Apart from this, Iran has been carrying out illegal activities in the areas adjacent to Armenia for a long time, while America is already keeping an eye there. Recently, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan had told in an open forum that its relations with Iran are not good. Meanwhile, Israel and America started exploiting Armenia’s large population. Armenians complain that Iran is getting closer to Russia, while Russia did not help Armenia even by promising to counter Azerbaijan’s aggressive stance. Overall, the loyalty of Iran’s neighboring Muslim countries in the Caucasian region is shifting towards Israel and America as well as Western countries.
