Iran has announced that it is launching its first destroyer in the Caspian Sea. Although the reports have thus far not been very detailed, this would presumably be the newly developed Jamaran class of ship, which Iran first launched in the Persian Gulf earlier this year. That Iran would be deploying its new, advanced destroyer in the Caspian would seem to contradict Tehran's earlier pledges to not militarize the Caspian. For example, the commander of Iran's navy said this in 2007:
The commander further voiced opposition to the expansion of military capabilities in the Caspian Sea, saying, "We view the Caspian as a sea of peace and friendship and we believe upgrading and expanding military equipment in this sea is incorrect. Yet, we are always prepared to defend the country's interests."
What might Iran see as a threat in the Caspian? The U.S. is helping (to varying degrees) Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan build up their respective Caspian navies. And Russia's is still the most formidable navy in the sea. People who like to speculate on possible Caspian military conflicts usually point to Iran, specifically an incident in 2001 when an Iranian warship threatened an Azerbaijani oil research vessel.
This is especially interesting in light of a report by Jamestown from last week that suggests that Russia is moving in the other direction -- from opposing full demilitarization of the Caspian to supporting it:
Russia has opted to support disarmament in the strategically important Caspian region, which is known to hold vast oil and gas resources. However, negotiations on the Caspian settlement continue as the littoral states apparently struggle to agree on crucial security and economic issues. Moscow “supports Turkmenistan’s initiatives aimed to secure the safety of cross-border pipelines and pursue disarmament in the Caspian region,” Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said during a recent visit to Ashgabat (Interfax, March 17). Last fall, Turkmenistan formally suggested hosting a disarmament conference on the Caspian region in Ashgabat this year.
The statement apparently came as a departure from Moscow’s earlier position. In March 2005, Lavrov said that Russia was not calling for withdrawal of all military forces from the Caspian Sea region: “Demilitarization of the Caspian does not correspond to the realities of today,” Lavrov insisted. However, Lavrov’s latest remarks on the Caspian followed a meeting in Baku on March 11-12 between the envoys from the five countries bordering the sea: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia and Turkmenistan.
Could Russia's move be related to Iran's? Vice versa?
And for a little more on the Jamaran, a from Press TV on the launch of the first Jamaran-class vessel in the Persian Gulf:
Joshua Kucera, a senior correspondent, is Eurasianet's former Turkey/Caucasus editor and has written for the site since 2007.
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