{"id":179,"date":"2018-02-09T18:49:32","date_gmt":"2018-02-09T18:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thehollyfest.org\/?page_id=179"},"modified":"2018-02-09T18:49:32","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T18:49:32","slug":"farhad-atai","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.thehollyfest.org\/index.php\/farhad-atai\/","title":{"rendered":"Farhad Atai"},"content":{"rendered":"

Central Asia as Viewed from Tehran:\u00a01992-2001<\/span><\/h1>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 released the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus into the world arena as independent states. The emergence of these republics drew the attention of the outside world and raised hopes for economic opportunities and political influence in the region.<\/p>\n

Immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a major concern in the West was that the Islamic Republic of Iran would be tempted to take advantage of the arising circumstances, and encourage Islamic movements and activities in Central Asia, leading to further destabilization of the region. Another concern was that during this crucial juncture when the Central Asian people were about to lay the foundation of their new independent states, the Islamic Republic might be used as model and, therefore, other \u201cIslamic Republics\u201d would appear in the region. Yet another long-term concern, though less elaborated and expressed, was the possible emergence of an Islamic block, hostile to the West, with a population of 300 million, that would spread from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n

Iran is an oil-rich country that earned $14 billion from export of petroleum and gas. The government or the major revolutionary organizations still controlled the economy. The Iranian government emphasized the Islamic character of its population and hoped to foster increasingly better relations with the Islamic world. Iran has boarders with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in Central Asia, and with Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Caucasus.<\/p>\n

As the region became accessible to the outside world, gradually the preoccupation with the Islamic threat from Iran reduced to a considerable extent. It soon became clear that the peoples of Central Asia, though Muslim, did not have any proclivities to follow Iran\u2019s version of Islam. Islam had spread in that region from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries mainly by Sufis, who presented their understanding of the religion to Central Asia, one that differs from the interpretation preached by the Iranian religious leaders. Seventy years of communist rule had further left an impact on the peoples\u2019 belief, making them even less inclined toward theocratic states.<\/p>\n

Regional powers and immediate neighbors of the Central Asian countries also had their hopes and concerns. Interestingly, Russia, which had just lost political sovereignty over a vast part of its empire, did not seem to have any clear policy in the region in the immediate aftermath of its breakup. In fact, Central Asia was not among Russia\u2019s priorities. The first time the Russian Foreign Minister visited Central Asia, was in April 1992, by which time the US Secretary of State had been to the area on official visits three times. Russia opened embassies in the region after Turkey, Iran, China, and the United States.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Iran and the Central Asian States<\/h2>\n

After the Soviet collapse, the Iranian government, too, looked to Central Asia with interest. In November 1991, Foreign Minister Velayati visited the five republics and talked about the prospects for cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Central Asian states. The Iranian view of the potential interests in the region proved as naive as other governments. Iran\u2019s hopes and concerns were as follows:<\/p>\n