Iran's defense minister Ahmad Vahidi has completed a visit to Azerbaijan, and apparently mooted the idea of joint naval exercises between the two countries (and possibly other coastal states Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Russia). Azeri Press Agency reports:
Iran may hold military exercises together with Azerbaijan and other littoral states, Defense Minister of Iran, General Ahmad Vahidi said at the press conference on the outcomes of his visit to Azerbaijan, APA reports.
Iranian Minister said such exercises aim at maintaining peace and stability in the region.
There was no immediate response from any of the other countries about whether they would be amenable to that.
Vahidi did acknowledge that Iran has been building up its military capacity in the Caspian...:
To APA’s question whether Iran’s strengthening its military forces in the Caspian Sea with the new ships will influence the balance of forces in the region, Minister said it will not violate the stability in the Caspian region.
“Iran considers the Caspian Sea the sea of peace, security and friendship. We have got good relations with the littoral states and these steps have been agreed with all,” he said.
... and still said that the sea should be demilitairzed:
"The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the Caspian Sea as the sea of peace and friendship and believes that the sea should remain unmilitary."
At the same time, the deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states met in Baku and worked on a draft security strategy for the sea, in advance of a November summit (also to be held in Baku).
There appeared to be a lot of rhetoric about "regional" solutions to Caspian problems. For example, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said:
"Security of the Caspian Sea should be maintained by the littoral states. This would be in the interest of all the regional states," Mammadyarov said ...
The emphasis on "regional" solutions in the Caspian, with Iranian officials especially, is a reference to the U.S. And while it's obvious why Iran wouldn't want the U.S. to be militarily involved in the Caspian, Azerbaijan has gotten patrol boats, maritime radars and significant naval special forces training from the U.S. Wonder if anyone in the Pentagon might be regretting that assistance now...
Joshua Kucera, a senior correspondent, is Eurasianet's former Turkey/Caucasus editor and has written for the site since 2007.
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