The end of the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan has helped foster strategic cooperation between Pakistan and Iran. Following a recent visit to Pakistan by Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi, the nations have signaled interest in expanding political, economic and strategic cooperation.
EurasiaNet: What kind of assistance will the US render to the Azerbaijani government now that the US Congress has authorized a waiver of sanctions contained under Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act? Wilson: The language that was passed by the Senate gives the President the authority to wave the section 907 for a year.
Boston, 7 November 2001 (RFE/RL) -- Iran tried unsuccessfully yesterday to find common ground with Turkey after failing to dissuade it from committing troops to the war against terror in Afghanistan.
Iran is emerging as a key player in discussions on a post-Taliban Afghanistan. Over the past week, four high-level European diplomats have traveled to Tehran seeking Iranian support for a plan that would establish an interim Afghan government with the backing of the United Nations.
A small group of US congressmen attended an informal dinner in Washington on October 17 with a top Iranian diplomat in an attempt to promote cooperation and speed the normalization of relations between the United States and Iran.
President Bush has set out clear terms for the global war against terrorism. Around the world, states are either "with us or with the terrorists." In late September, Iran appeared to choose the latter. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refused to join the US-led coalition, stating that his country would not join America in a fight against Iran's Muslim brothers in Afghanistan.
Iran has established a dangerous precedent with its threat to use force to prevent what it claims are incursions by Azerbaijani-sponsored oil exploration vessels in a disputed area of the Caspian Sea.
Azerbaijan and Iran have been sparring since July 23, when an Iranian gunboat challenged two Azerbaijani oil exploration vessels which were conducting environmental studies on behalf of the BP Amoco conglomerate in the disputed Araz-Sharg-Alov field. Iranian officials asserted that the Azerbaijani ships were operating in Iran's territorial waters.
When US President George Bush met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in bucolic Slovenia in June, something curious was underway near the Caspian Sea. The 'neutral' government of Turkmenistan struck a deal with Russia to exchange gas for Russian arms.
