the caspian sea basin (1991-2008) and the importance of the islamic republic of iran

the geopolitically important basin of the mazandaran sea found its new identity after the collapse of the soviet :union: as an active region with specific functions. the power vacuum arising from the collapse of the soviet :union: and presence of huge energy resources attracted the attention of trans-regional powers and flow of big investment companies to the region. regional developments are affected by energy and questions related to oil and gas pipelines as well as policies concerning transporting them. the need of caspian littoral states to world markets and imports and exports particularly exports of oil and gas on which the regional countries' economies depend and need to political stability which hinge on economic stability the strongest current is shaping an intra-regional pattern. given the importance of energy transit from the caspian sea basin, this paper seeks to answer the question what role iran can play in this respect.