AVASH NEWS: Neither of the main treaties between Iran and the Soviet Union mentioned Iran’s 50 percent share of territorial possession over the Caspian Sea. To discover what has happened, we must return to two important deals.
First, the 1921 deal between Iran and the Soviet Union, which was signed after the Islamic Revolution. This contract lifted some limitations that remained from Tsarist Russia, reviving Iran’s right to shipping. The second contract was a business and seafaring deal of 1940 that arranged Iran and the Soviet Union’s maritime relations and imposed limitations regarding the presence of ships from third countries. These documents speak about the equal rights of the two countries in some fields. However, there is a very important difference: legal equality in shipping and using the sea is not the same as ownership of half of the Caspian Sea.
No line was drawn in the middle of the Caspian Sea in the 1921 and 1940 contracts to show that 50 percent belonged to Iran and 50 percent to the Soviet Union. The seabed and resources under the sea water were not divided between the two countries either. However, this does not mean that Iran’s share was 11 or 13 percent. The main turning point was the year 1991.
The Soviet Union collapsed, and instead of a single country in the north of Iran, four countries—Russia, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan—were established. At this point, one of the longest-lasting legal disputes in the region began. In the coming years, Russia, Kazakhstan, and the Republic of Azerbaijan, through deals among themselves, demarcated the Caspian Sea. Sometimes it is said that these deals changed “Iran’s right to 13 percent.” But these interpretations are not precise. Iran was not one of the parties to these deals, and the three northern countries were not able to define Iran’s right either. The problem was that, if the methods used for dividing the seabed from north to south of the Caspian Sea were applied, Iran’s share could reach a figure close to 13 percent because of the geographical shape of Iran’s coast; an outcome Iran did not accept.
Iran emphasized at least 20 percent in the following negotiations, meaning that if the Caspian Sea were supposed to be divided, Iran’s share could not be less than 20 percent, which is one-fifth of the sea.
This dispute led to a conflict once. Iran issued a warning in 2001 regarding oil exploration activities in the maritime region of the Alborz oilfield, which Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan disputed over. These exploration operations were halted following Iran’s warnings. However, 20 percent does not mean that there is a border that the five countries have officially agreed upon, and that is the same key issue.
