Iran on the way to the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea: problems of implementation

Kopylova Irina Aleksandrovna

the purpose of the study is to identify the historical, political, and current socio-economic conditions for the implementation (i.e., ratification) of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian sea by Iran. The article discusses some of the basic principles approved in the Convention, which are a continuation of the previous Soviet-Iranian agreements. On the one hand, the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian sea becomes a starting point for developing five-party relations at a new level, expressing deep trust and political will, and lobbying for geopolitical and environmental security in the region. On the other hand, legal recognition of the Convention faces a delay in the procedure due to a number of "unfavorable" circumstances. The scientific novelty of the study is to identify the causes of socio-political instability in Iran and its significance for the process of ratification of the Convention on the legal status of the Caspian sea. The result substantiates the prerequisites is a discrepancy of qualification of national objectives, including the primacy or delays in addressing the question of the timing of ratification of the Convention, its risks and the further practical use of the document.

Keywords:Convention on the legal status of the Caspian sea; problem of ratification; parliamentary elections 2020 in Iran; national interests; historical and geopolitical significance of the Caspian sea.