Iran-Russia relations
From Imam Khomeini’s letter to the collapse of the Soviet Union
When Mikhail Gorbachev, Head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, received Imam Khomeini’s letter from the Imam’s chosen delegation party, he turned to them and said: “Although the people of the Soviet Union and Iran are followers of different schools of thought, this does not prevent us from cooperating with each other based on our common principles and traditions.” On January the 4th 1989, when Eduard Shevardnadze, the Soviet foreign minister, traveled to Iran after his visit to Iraq and delivered Gorbachev’s official response to Imam Khomeini, he was also instructed to talk about bilateral relations.
ID: 30470
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Date: 2012/01/15
When Mikhail Gorbachev, Head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, received Imam Khomeini’s letter from the Imam’s chosen delegation party, he turned to them and said: “Although the people of the Soviet Union and Iran are followers of different schools of thought, this does not prevent us from cooperating with each other based on our common principles and traditions.” On January the 4th 1989, when Eduard Shevardnadze, the Soviet foreign minister, traveled to Iran after his visit to Iraq and delivered Gorbachev’s official response to Imam Khomeini, he was also instructed to talk about bilateral relations.
Tehran wasn’t on good terms with Moscow because they supported Baghdad and supplied them with weapons during the imposed war (e.g. selling MIG-25 aircrafts to Iraq). Moscow was also unhappy with Iran because they didn’t accompany them in their occupation of Afghanistan. After Gorbachev came into office, the Soviet Union chose a new policy, which insisted on ending the Iran- Iraq war. In the meeting with Shevardnadze, the Imam welcomed the withdrawal of the Soviet forces from Afghanistan, and he also insisted on having good relations with each other and on expanding the relations between the two countries in order to fight against the West’s movements. He also stressed that the foreign forces should withdraw from the Persian Gulf, and he prayed that the people of Iran and the Soviet Union live in peace and calmness forever. In his meeting with Shevardnadze, the Iranian Prime Minister Mir Hussein Mousavi, asked for a fast alteration in their economic relations and for a strategic cooperation between Iran and the Soviet Union. On January the 6th 1989,political agreements were signed and cultural exchanges were made between Iran and the Soviet Union by the foreign ministers. Thus they were a step closer to their common goal. On the day that Mohammad Javad Larijani left Tehran for Moscow (March the 19th 1989) in order to follow up the signed agreements, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia had asked the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) to condemn the United States firing at the Iranian airliner, however this request was over ruled. The only measure this organization took was to announce its regret for this accident, which caused the death of 290 civilian passengers.
Before Hashimi Rafsanjani’s visit to Moscow, who was then the spokesman of parliament, the Soviet Union had taken another positive measure for Iran, which was appreciated by Iran. This was the request for the withdrawal of the Iraqi forces to the borders, which were determined in the 1975 Algeria treaty. Hashimi Rafsanjani’s visit, which happened after the demise of Imam Khomeini, led to several educational, military and industrial agreements between the two countries. This travel was a breakthrough in the Tehran- Moscow relations.
The start of the new Iran- Soviet Union relations was at a time when there were new developments in the Eastern camp, developments which Iran observed carefully. Hashimi Rafsanjani said the following to the Soviet minister of foreign economic relations in his first month of presidency: “We will follow your internal issues and the internal issues of the rest of your allies in the Eastern Bloc, and we see them as completely positive.” This was the time when the flames of the cold war were turning off and the flames of the first Persian Gulf War (the U.S. and its allies attacked Iraq after the invasion of Kuwait) had just begun. It was during this time that Gorbachev asked Iran to help prevent the expansion of the conflicts in the region, as Iran had announced a neutral stance with regards to the conflicts.
Close positions in the Persian Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War was a new era in the cooperation and consultations of Tehran- Moscow. Hashimi Rafsanjani had announced: “Based on the decision of the Supreme Leader and general policies of our country, we will take a neutral stance. We believe that the Iraqis should leave Kuwait and that the multi nation forces should also leave the region.” Three days later on February the 4th 1990, the Soviet foreign minister in a message to Ali Akbar Velayati, his Iranian counterpart, emphasized the necessity of the continuation of relations between the authorities of the two countries, especially regarding the Persian Gulf War. On March the 18th 1990, Velayati met Gorbachev in Moscow and at the end of their meeting they announced that the positions of Iran and the Soviet Union in the Persian Gulf War were very close. After his return from the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Italy and Switzerland, Velayati said: “The recent announcement of the Soviets to the Iraqi commanders is the result of the peaceful efforts of Iran and the Soviet Union.” Iran continued to support the peace initiative proposed by the Soviet Union.
Iran’s new neighbors
The days, when the northern neighbor of Iran was splitting up and the Soviet Union was changing to the Federation of Russia and Boris Yeltsin was the symbol of modern Russia, were sensitive days in the relations between Tehran and Moscow. Hashimi Rafsanjani met the Azerbaijan president in Tehran and a few days later, Saparmurat Niyazov, the Turkmenistan president delivered Gorbachev’s written message to him in a meeting. On November the 27th 1990, Velayati went to Moscow and in a meeting with Gorbachev and Yeltsin signed a political- economic- cultural and educational memorandum between Iran and Russia. Three weeks after this Gorbachev resigned from power and following this, 11 republics from the 16 republics of the Soviet Union, with 6 agreements and establishing CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), announced the collapse of the Soviet Union. On December the 23rd 1990, Hassan Habibi, deputy of the president, announced that all contracts signed in the recent years with the former Soviet Union still remain, diplomatic offices of the newly independent countries will be open in Tehran, and Iran will have stable relations with all the newly independent countries. It was also announced that the Soviet embassy in Tehran will continue its work in Iran as the embassy of the Russian Federation.
Iran recognized the newly independent countries, however the new northern neighbors of the Caspian Sea were unsure of their share of the Caspain Sea. This is still a problem today.