Iran, TRACECA and the European Union Southern Gas Corridor Initiative in the Post-Sanctions Era

The geopolitical location of the Islamic Republic of Iran has made it a potential passage for transit of oil, natural gas, commercial products and passengers. This potential, however, has not been fulfilled due to U.S. policy of marginalizing Iran. With the resolution of the Iranian nuclear dispute, as a turning point in Iran’s relations with the outer world, the question is “what are the implications of reduction of security considerations in Iran-EU relations and strengthening the Iranian development-oriented foreign policy for the two challenging initiatives of the Southern Gas Corridor and TRACECA?” In response we argue that: in medium term, the most important impediment to Iran’s participation in the Southern Gas Corridor that is political will be removed but Iranian engagement in EU’s TRACECA corridor will remain unchanged because of major infrastructural shortcomings. Iran can have an active participation in the Southern Gas Corridor.

کلیدواژه ها:

European Union ، Iran ، the post–sanctions era ، interstate initiatives ، TRACECA