Iran-Russia relations
Encyclopedia
Relations between Russia
and Persia (pre-1935 Iran
), officially commenced in 1592, with the Safavids in power. Past and present contact between Russia and Iran has long been complicatedly multi-faceted; often wavering between collaboration and rivalry. The two nations have a long history of geographic, economic, and socio-political interaction. Since then, mutual relations have been turbulent often, and dormant at others.
Stenka Razin
raided, and occasionally wintered at, Persia's north coast, creating diplomatic problems for the Russian Czar in his dealings with the Persian Shah. The Russian song telling the tragic semi-legendary story of Razin's relationship with a Persian princess remains popular to this day.
Irano-Russian relations particularly picked up as a weakened Safavid empire gave way to the Qajarid dynasty in the mid-18th century. The first Persian Ambassador to Russia was Mirza Abolhassan Khan Ilchi
. The Qajarid government was quickly absorbed with managing domestic turmoil, while rival colonial powers rapidly sought a stable foothold in the region. While the Portuguese
, British
, and Dutch
competed for the south and southeast of Persia in the Persian Gulf
, the Russian Empire
largely was left unchallenged in the north as it plunged southward to establish dominance in Persia's northern territories more.
Plagued with internal politics, the Qajarid government found itself incapable of rising to the challenge of facing its northern threat from Russia.
A weakened and bankrupted royal court, under Fath Ali Shah, was forced to sign the notorious Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, followed by the Treaty of Turkmenchay
after efforts by Abbas Mirza
failed to secure Persia's northern front.
With the Russian Empire continuously advancing south in the course of two wars against Persia, and the treaties of Turkmanchai and Golestan in the western frontiers, plus the unexpected death of Abbas Mirza
in 1823, and the murder of Persia's Grand Vizier (Mirza AbolQasem Qa'im Maqām), Persia lost its traditional foothold in Central Asia
to the Russian Tsar
ist armies. ' The Russian armies occupied the Aral
coast in 1849, Tashkent
in 1864, Bukhara
in 1867, Samarkand
in 1868, and Khiva
and Amudarya in 1873. The Treaty of Akhal, in which the Qajarid's were forced to cede Khwarazm, topped off Persian losses to the global emerging power of Imperial Russia.
By the end of the 19th century, the Russian Empire's dominance became so pronounced that Tabriz
, Qazvin
, and a host of other cities were occupied by Russia, and the central government in Tehran
was left with no power to even select its own ministers without the approval of the Anglo-Russian consulates. Morgan Shuster
, for example, had to resign under tremendous British and Russian pressure on the royal court. Shuster's book "The Strangling of Persia" is a recount of the details of these events, a harsh criticism of Britain
and Imperial Russia.
These, and a series of climaxing events such as the Russian shelling of Mashad's Goharshad Mosque
in 1911, and the shelling of the Persian National Assembly by the Russian Colonel V. Liakhov, led to a surge in widespread anti-Russian sentiments across the nation.
See a photo of a burial of a Russian road engineer in Qazvin
here: http://www.iranian.com/Kasraie/2005/October/Qazvin/20.html
. The rebellion, headed by Mirza Kuchak Khan
led to an eventual confrontation between the Iranian rebels and the Russian army, but was disrupted with the October Revolution
in 1917.
Russian involvement however continued on with the establishment of the short-lived Persian Socialist Soviet Republic
in 1920, followed by the Republic of Mahabad
, the last effort by Soviet Russia to establish a communist republic in Iran.
In 1941, as the Second World War
raged, Soviet Russia and Great Britain launched the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
, ignoring Iran's plea of neutrality.
In a revealing cable sent on July 6, 1945 by the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of the Soviet Union
, the local Soviet commander in northern Azerbaijan was instructed as such:
Khorasan
".
The end of World War Two brought the start of American dominance in Iran's political arena, and with an anti-Soviet Cold War
brewing, the United States
quickly moved to convert Iran into an anti-communist block, thus ending Russia's influence on Iran for years to come.
with large amounts of conventional arms. Ayatollah Khomeini deemed Islam principally incompatible with the communist ideals of the Soviet Union
, leaving the secular Saddam as an ally of Moscow
.
After the war, especially with the fall of the USSR, Tehran
-Moscow
relations witnessed a sudden increase in diplomatic and commercial relations, and Iran soon even began purchasing weapons from Russia.
By the mid 1990s, Russia had already agreed to continue work on developing Iran's Nuclear Program
, with plans to finish constructing the nearly 20 year delayed Nuclear Reactor
plant of Bushehr
.
As confrontation between the United States
and Iran escalates, the country is finding itself further pushed into an alliance with China and Russia. And Iran, like Russia, "views Turkey
's regional ambitions and the possible spread of some form of pan-Turkic ideology with suspicion".
Russia and Iran also share a common interest in limiting the political influence of the United States in Central Asia. This common interest has led the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
to extend to Iran observer status in 2005, and offer full membership in 2006. Iran's relations with the organization, which is dominated by Russia and China, represents the most extensive diplomatic ties Iran has shared since the 1979 revolution. Iran and Russia have co-founded the Gas Exporting Countries Forum
along with Qatar.
The solidity of Tehran-Moscow ties remains to be seen and tested however. Russia is increasingly becoming dependent on its economic relations with the West, and is thus gradually becoming vulnerable to western pressures in trying to curb its ties with Tehran. Iran has also expressed its unhappiness with the repeated delays by Russia in finishing the Bushehr Reactor project
, as well as Russia's stance in the Caspian Sea dispute.
and civilian air fleet are increasingly becoming domestically and Russian built as the US and Europe continues to maintain sanctions on Iran
. In 2010, Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment led the UN to pass a new resolution, number 1929 to vote for new sanctions against Iran
which bans the sale of all types of heavy weaponry (including missiles) to Iran. This resulted in the cancellation of the delivery of the S-300 system to Iran: In September 2010 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree banning the delivery of S-300 missile systems, armored vehicles, warplanes, helicopters and ships to Iran. This may cause the loss of $13 billion in arms sales to Iran and force Iran to depend on China for arms in the future according to Igor Korotchenko. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also criticised Russia for kowtowing to the United States.
and Lukoil
have become increasingly involved in the development of Iranian oil and gas projects
.
In 2005, Russia was the seventh largest trading partner of Iran, with 5.33% of all exports to Iran originating from Russia. Trade relations between the two increased from USD$
1 billion in 2005 to $3.7 billion in 2008. Motor vehicles, fruits, vegetables, glass, textiles, plastics, chemicals, hand-woven carpet, stone and plaster products were among the main Iranian non-oil goods exported to Russia.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Persia (pre-1935 Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
), officially commenced in 1592, with the Safavids in power. Past and present contact between Russia and Iran has long been complicatedly multi-faceted; often wavering between collaboration and rivalry. The two nations have a long history of geographic, economic, and socio-political interaction. Since then, mutual relations have been turbulent often, and dormant at others.
History of Iran-Russia relations
Pre-Pahlavi era
Contacts between Russians and Persians have a long history. As early as in the 1660s the famous Russian Cossack atamanAtaman
Ataman was a commander title of the Ukrainian People's Army, Cossack, and haidamak leaders, who were in essence the Cossacks...
Stenka Razin
Stenka Razin
Stepan Timofeyevich Razin Тимофеевич Разин, ; 1630 – ) was a Cossack leader who led a major uprising against the nobility and Tsar's bureaucracy in South Russia.-Early life:...
raided, and occasionally wintered at, Persia's north coast, creating diplomatic problems for the Russian Czar in his dealings with the Persian Shah. The Russian song telling the tragic semi-legendary story of Razin's relationship with a Persian princess remains popular to this day.
Irano-Russian relations particularly picked up as a weakened Safavid empire gave way to the Qajarid dynasty in the mid-18th century. The first Persian Ambassador to Russia was Mirza Abolhassan Khan Ilchi
Mirza Abolhassan Khan Ilchi
Mirza Abolhasan Khan Ilchi was an Iranian diplomat who was a foreign affairs minister for twenty years.Ilchi was the first Persian foreign affairs minister assigned by Fat′h-Ali Shah Qajar...
. The Qajarid government was quickly absorbed with managing domestic turmoil, while rival colonial powers rapidly sought a stable foothold in the region. While the Portuguese
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
, British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, and Dutch
Dutch Empire
The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...
competed for the south and southeast of Persia in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
, the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
largely was left unchallenged in the north as it plunged southward to establish dominance in Persia's northern territories more.
Plagued with internal politics, the Qajarid government found itself incapable of rising to the challenge of facing its northern threat from Russia.
A weakened and bankrupted royal court, under Fath Ali Shah, was forced to sign the notorious Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, followed by the Treaty of Turkmenchay
Treaty of Turkmenchay
The Treaty of Turkmenchay was a treaty negotiated in Turkmenchay by which the Qajar Empire recognized Russian suzerainty over the Erivan khanate, the Nakhchivan khanate, and the remainder of the Talysh khanate, establishing the Aras River as the common boundary between the empires, after its...
after efforts by Abbas Mirza
Abbas Mirza
Prince, Field-Marshal Abbas Mirza born Amol city , was a Qajar crown prince of Persia. He developed a reputation as a military commander during wars with Russia and the Ottoman Empire, as an early modernizer of Persia's armed forces and institutions, and for his death before his father, Fath Ali...
failed to secure Persia's northern front.
With the Russian Empire continuously advancing south in the course of two wars against Persia, and the treaties of Turkmanchai and Golestan in the western frontiers, plus the unexpected death of Abbas Mirza
Abbas Mirza
Prince, Field-Marshal Abbas Mirza born Amol city , was a Qajar crown prince of Persia. He developed a reputation as a military commander during wars with Russia and the Ottoman Empire, as an early modernizer of Persia's armed forces and institutions, and for his death before his father, Fath Ali...
in 1823, and the murder of Persia's Grand Vizier (Mirza AbolQasem Qa'im Maqām), Persia lost its traditional foothold in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
to the Russian Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
ist armies. ' The Russian armies occupied the Aral
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea was a lake that lay between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south...
coast in 1849, Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
in 1864, Bukhara
Emirate of Bukhara
The Emirate of Bukhara was a Central Asian state that existed from 1785 to 1920. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, known formerly as Transoxiana. Its core territory was the land along the lower Zarafshan River, and its urban centres were the ancient cities of...
in 1867, Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
in 1868, and Khiva
Khanate of Khiva
The Khanate of Khiva was the name of a Uzbek state that existed in the historical region of Khwarezm from 1511 to 1920, except for a period of Persian occupation by Nadir Shah between 1740–1746. It was the patrilineal descendants of Shayban , the fifth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
and Amudarya in 1873. The Treaty of Akhal, in which the Qajarid's were forced to cede Khwarazm, topped off Persian losses to the global emerging power of Imperial Russia.
By the end of the 19th century, the Russian Empire's dominance became so pronounced that Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
, Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
, and a host of other cities were occupied by Russia, and the central government in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
was left with no power to even select its own ministers without the approval of the Anglo-Russian consulates. Morgan Shuster
Morgan Shuster
William Morgan Shuster , American lawyer, civil servant, and publisher, who is best known as the treasurer-general of Persia by appointment of the Iranian parliament, or Majles, from May to December 1911.-Background:Shuster was born in Washington, DC and educated in the Columbian University and Law...
, for example, had to resign under tremendous British and Russian pressure on the royal court. Shuster's book "The Strangling of Persia" is a recount of the details of these events, a harsh criticism of Britain
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and Imperial Russia.
These, and a series of climaxing events such as the Russian shelling of Mashad's Goharshad Mosque
Goharshad Mosque
Goharshad Mosque is a former free standing mosque in Mashhad of the Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, which now serves as one of the prayer halls within the Imam Reza shrine complex....
in 1911, and the shelling of the Persian National Assembly by the Russian Colonel V. Liakhov, led to a surge in widespread anti-Russian sentiments across the nation.
See a photo of a burial of a Russian road engineer in Qazvin
Qazvin
Qazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
here: http://www.iranian.com/Kasraie/2005/October/Qazvin/20.html
Pahlavi era
One result of the public outcry against the ubiquitous presence of Imperial Russia in Persia was the Constitutionalist movement of GilanConstitutionalist movement of Gilan
The Jangal movement, in Gilan, was a rebellion against the monarchist rule of the Qajar central government of Iran. It is considered as the extension of Constitutional Revolution of Iran and lasted from 1914 to 1921.-History of the movement:...
. The rebellion, headed by Mirza Kuchak Khan
Mirza Kuchak Khan
Mīrzā Kūchik Khān was an early twentieth century revolutionary and is considered a national hero in modern Iranian history...
led to an eventual confrontation between the Iranian rebels and the Russian army, but was disrupted with the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
in 1917.
Russian involvement however continued on with the establishment of the short-lived Persian Socialist Soviet Republic
Persian Socialist Soviet Republic
The Persian Socialist Soviet Republic was a short-lived Soviet republic in the Iranian province of Gilan that lasted from June 1920 until September 1921...
in 1920, followed by the Republic of Mahabad
Republic of Mahabad
The Republic of Mahabad , officially known as Republic of Kurdistan and established in Iranian Kurdistan, was a short-lived, Kurdish government that sought Kurdish autonomy within the limits of the Iranian state. The capital was the city of Mahabad in northwestern Iran...
, the last effort by Soviet Russia to establish a communist republic in Iran.
In 1941, as the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
raged, Soviet Russia and Great Britain launched the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran was the Allied invasion of the Imperial State of Iran during World War II, by British, Commonwealth, and Soviet armed forces. The invasion from August 25 to September 17, 1941, was codenamed Operation Countenance...
, ignoring Iran's plea of neutrality.
In a revealing cable sent on July 6, 1945 by the Central Committee of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, the local Soviet commander in northern Azerbaijan was instructed as such:
- "Begin preparatory work to form a national autonomous Azerbaijan district with broad powers within the Iranian state and simultaneously develop separatist movements in the provinces of GilanGilan ProvinceGilan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It lies along the Caspian Sea, just west of the province of Mazandaran, east of the province of Ardabil, north of the provinces of Zanjan and Qazvin....
, MazandaranMazandaran ProvinceMazandaran Province is a Caspian province in the north of Iran. Located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, it is bordered clockwise by the Golestan, Semnan, Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, and Gilan provinces....
, GorganGorganGorgan Some east of Gorgan is the Golestan National Park. The city has a regional airport and several universities. Gorgan Airport was opened in September 2005.-Etymology:...
, and
Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
".
The end of World War Two brought the start of American dominance in Iran's political arena, and with an anti-Soviet Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
brewing, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
quickly moved to convert Iran into an anti-communist block, thus ending Russia's influence on Iran for years to come.
Post 1979
During the Iran–Iraq War, the USSR supplied Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
with large amounts of conventional arms. Ayatollah Khomeini deemed Islam principally incompatible with the communist ideals of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, leaving the secular Saddam as an ally of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
After the war, especially with the fall of the USSR, Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
-Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
relations witnessed a sudden increase in diplomatic and commercial relations, and Iran soon even began purchasing weapons from Russia.
By the mid 1990s, Russia had already agreed to continue work on developing Iran's Nuclear Program
Nuclear program of Iran
The nuclear program of Iran was launched in the 1950s with the help of the United States as part of the Atoms for Peace program. The support, encouragement and participation of the United States and Western European governments in Iran's nuclear program continued until the 1979 Iranian Revolution...
, with plans to finish constructing the nearly 20 year delayed Nuclear Reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
plant of Bushehr
Bushehr
Bushehr Bushehr lies in a vast plain running along the coastal region on the Persian Gulf coast of southwestern Iran. It is the chief seaport of the country and the administrative centre of its province. Its location is about south of Tehran. The local climate is hot and humid.The city...
.
Current relations
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Iran escalates, the country is finding itself further pushed into an alliance with China and Russia. And Iran, like Russia, "views Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
's regional ambitions and the possible spread of some form of pan-Turkic ideology with suspicion".
Russia and Iran also share a common interest in limiting the political influence of the United States in Central Asia. This common interest has led the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Shanghai Cooperation Organization
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO , is an intergovernmental mutual-security organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
to extend to Iran observer status in 2005, and offer full membership in 2006. Iran's relations with the organization, which is dominated by Russia and China, represents the most extensive diplomatic ties Iran has shared since the 1979 revolution. Iran and Russia have co-founded the Gas Exporting Countries Forum
Gas Exporting Countries Forum
The Gas Exporting Countries Forum is an intergovernmental organization of some of the world's leading natural gas producers. GECF members together control over 70% of the world's natural gas reserves, 38% of the pipeline trade and 85% of the liquefied natural gas production...
along with Qatar.
The solidity of Tehran-Moscow ties remains to be seen and tested however. Russia is increasingly becoming dependent on its economic relations with the West, and is thus gradually becoming vulnerable to western pressures in trying to curb its ties with Tehran. Iran has also expressed its unhappiness with the repeated delays by Russia in finishing the Bushehr Reactor project
Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant
The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Iran southeast of the city of Bushehr, between the fishing villages of Halileh and Bandargeh along the Persian Gulf. The plant is located at the junction of three tectonic plates....
, as well as Russia's stance in the Caspian Sea dispute.
Military
Unlike previous years in which Iran's air fleet were entirely western made, Iran's Air ForceIslamic Republic of Iran Air Force
The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force ' is the aviation branch of the Iranian armed forces. The present Air Force came into being in the early 1980s when the former Imperial Iranian Air Force was renamed....
and civilian air fleet are increasingly becoming domestically and Russian built as the US and Europe continues to maintain sanctions on Iran
Sanctions against Iran
This article outlines economic, trade, scientific and military sanctions against Iran, which have been imposed by the U.S. government, or under U.S. pressure by the international community through the United Nations Security Council...
. In 2010, Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment led the UN to pass a new resolution, number 1929 to vote for new sanctions against Iran
Sanctions against Iran
This article outlines economic, trade, scientific and military sanctions against Iran, which have been imposed by the U.S. government, or under U.S. pressure by the international community through the United Nations Security Council...
which bans the sale of all types of heavy weaponry (including missiles) to Iran. This resulted in the cancellation of the delivery of the S-300 system to Iran: In September 2010 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree banning the delivery of S-300 missile systems, armored vehicles, warplanes, helicopters and ships to Iran. This may cause the loss of $13 billion in arms sales to Iran and force Iran to depend on China for arms in the future according to Igor Korotchenko. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also criticised Russia for kowtowing to the United States.
Trade
In addition to their trade and cooperation in hydrocarbons, Iran and Russia have also expanded trade ties in many non-energy sectors of the economy, including a large agriculture agreement in January 2009 and a telecommunications contract in December 2008. In July 2010, Iran and Russia signed an agreement to increase their cooperation in developing their energy sectors. Features of the agreement include the establishment of a joint oil exchange, which with a combined production of up to 15 million barrels of oil per day has the potential to become a leading market globally. GazpromGazprom
Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...
and Lukoil
LUKoil
Lukoil/LUKoil ; ) is Russia's second largest oil company and its second largest producer of oil. In 2009, the company produced 97.615 million tons of oil; ....
have become increasingly involved in the development of Iranian oil and gas projects
Petroleum industry in Iran
In 2004 Iran produced 5.1 percent of the world’s total crude oil , which generated revenues of US$25 billion to US$30 billion and was the country’s primary source of foreign currency. At 2006 levels of production, oil proceeds represented about 18.7 percent of gross domestic product . However, the...
.
In 2005, Russia was the seventh largest trading partner of Iran, with 5.33% of all exports to Iran originating from Russia. Trade relations between the two increased from USD$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1 billion in 2005 to $3.7 billion in 2008. Motor vehicles, fruits, vegetables, glass, textiles, plastics, chemicals, hand-woven carpet, stone and plaster products were among the main Iranian non-oil goods exported to Russia.
See also
- Foreign relations of IranForeign relations of IranForeign relations of Iran refers to inter-governmental relationships between Iran and other countries. Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the newly-born Islamic Republic, under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, dramatically reversed the pro-Western foreign policy of the last Shah of Iran,...
- Iran-China relationsIran-China relationsSino-Persian relations , or Sino-Iranian relations, refers to the historic diplomatic, cultural and economic relations between the cultures of China proper and Greater Iran, dating back to ancient times...
- Russo-Persian War, 1826-1828Russo-Persian War, 1826-1828The Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828 was the last major military conflict between the Russian Empire and the Persian Empire.After the Treaty of Gulistan concluded the previous Russo-Persian War in 1813, peace reigned in the Caucasus for thirteen years...
- Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 in which Persia was proposed to be partitioned
- Gas Exporting Countries ForumGas Exporting Countries ForumThe Gas Exporting Countries Forum is an intergovernmental organization of some of the world's leading natural gas producers. GECF members together control over 70% of the world's natural gas reserves, 38% of the pipeline trade and 85% of the liquefied natural gas production...
Further reading
- Kazemzadeh, FiruzFiruz KazemzadehFiruz Kazemzadeh is a professor emeritus of history at Yale University.Firuz Kazemzadeh was born in Moscow, where his father served in the embassy of Iran...
, Russia and Britain in Persia, A study in Imperialism, 1968, Yale University Press.