Depriving Iranians of Their Caspian Entitlements

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, exploitation of Caspian Sea substantial energy resources has become a serious concern of littoral states. As an extraregional power, the United States has tried reap its own fruit from the developments in this part of the world. Incorporated within US Caspian strategy is its overt effort to isolate Iran and support the interests of its Central Asian and Caucasian neighbors.

Since 1993, when the Republic of Azerbaijan claimed sovereignty over a portion of the sea and addressed the issue in its constitution, as a part of its anti-Iran regional strategy the United States has been a faithful supporter of the non-legal and illegal approaches of Azerbaijan. Minimization of Iran’s interests has been always on the agenda of US envoys to Caspian states. In line with this macropolicy is the participation of American energy giants in exploitation of oil resources in the Caspian Sea.

One of the most serious disagreements over the use of Caspian resources has emerged between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. Due to its considerable inland gas and oil resources, Turkmenistan shows a lukewarm interest in tapping Caspian oil and gas field. For Turkmenistan, it is mainly sovereignty issues which urge it to deny Azerbaijan’s claims over the disputed area.

On the other hand, for Azerbaijan which has experienced a crushing defeat against Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and faces economic hardship after USSR dissolution, the Caspian energy resources are of prime importance for survival. Along with Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan has been the most determined Caspian littoral state to exploit oil and gas fields.

Iran’s official stance is that according to the Soviet and post-Soviet era treaties no country has the unilateral exploitation entitlements to Caspian resources. However, what we see today is that except for Iran, all other littoral states are reaping the profits of oil and gas fields.

Transportation and exportation of energy products has been another major concern, sparking off many political developments, even military confrontations, during the recent years. Struggles have been going on and on between regional states in attempt to introduce one’s territory as the optimum energy route and enjoy the political and economic profits.

Unfortunately, our country, located on the southern coast of the Caspian and hosting the most convenient route for Caspian and Central Asian states to open waters of the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, has been marginalized in this geopolitical game. Despite all the international pressure Iran is tolerating at the present, foreign ministry officials persist in drafting a legal regime for the Caspian Sea. At a time when we are not holding the upper hand in bargains, the roots of this insistence are unclear. Aren’t we just serving the interests of other littoral states which are depleting the resources while we are toying with the legal regime?

The two most powerful Caspian littoral states, Iran and Russia, are writing their own version of the energy story. While Russia’s is a success story, as it has resolved its challenges through a synthesis of competition and cooperation, the Iranian narration is one of a country that has deprived its citizens of the outstanding profits of the Caspian.

Pipelines are probably Iran’s major loss in this game. To back its regional allies, the United States is supporting the installation of Baku-Tbilisi-Çeyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines. The pipelines may also stand as a symbol for the intelligent energy diplomacy of Turkey and demonstrate how this country has shrewdly taken advantage of regional competitions.

The Nabokov is another pipeline supported by European states to escape from Russians’ stranglehold over energy routes. Nevertheless, the collision between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan is a stumbling block. At this point the Americans, satisfied with their experience over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and mediation between Armenia and Turkey, have decided to mediate the dispute. Although oil production in this region is lower than the global standard, its geopolitical criticality for both the United States and Europe has urged the Americans to play their superpower card.

While Russians have sealed deals with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan over dividing Caspian resources, the dispute between Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan on the energy resources lying between the territorial waters of the two countries, has become a challenge for the Nabokov project. Washington is trying to resolve the problem in expense of isolating Iran and depriving its people from Caspian’s political and economic advantages.