It seems that the ice of relations between Dushanbe and Tehran is rapidly melting. Tajikistan and Iran have not had good relations for several years. They blamed each other for “missing money” and “supporting the Islamic opposition”.
NEW SEASON?
Nizamuddin Zahidi, Ambassador of Tajikistan to Iran, met with a representative of the Ministry of Energy of the Islamic Republic on October 22. The implementation of the Protocol of the 15th meeting of the Commission for Trade, Economic and Cultural Cooperation between Tajikistan and Iran was discussed in the conversation.
A few days ago, on October 19, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, received Ali Baqiri, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran on political issues. According to the information of the Tajik side, the two sides discussed the issue of cooperation within regional and international organizations.
On this day, the first meeting of the political committee of Tajikistan and Iran was held. According to reports, bilateral cooperation in political, economic, social, healthcare, tourism, cultural and educational fields was emphasized at the meeting.
Before that, Mohammad Reza Oshtiani , Minister of Defense of Iran, arrived in Tajikistan on October 18. This Iranian official met with President Emomali Rahmon and Defense Minister Sherali Mirza.
The press office of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan reported that the parties discussed the need to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking and cross-border organized crime.
The semi-official “Tasnim” news agency, close to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, wrote that the parties are scheduled to discuss issues of security and defense, as well as the strengthening of security agreements between the countries. The details of this meeting were not disclosed to the media.
IN SEARCH OF “SPONSOR”
Edward Lemon, director of the “Oxus Society” center and an expert on Central Asian affairs from the University of Texas, USA, attributed this closeness to several factors.
“First of all, Tajikistan is in the process of finding an additional source of support in the border conflict with Kyrgyzstan. Including drones, which were very effective in the conflicts in the Caucasus and Ukraine. Second, Russia’s war in Ukraine undermined confidence in the country as a security partner. They want to increase their security contacts, which were still focused on Moscow, at the expense of China and Iran,” the expert says.
Parviz Mullojonov, an independent expert from Tajikistan, has a similar opinion. However, he believes that Dushanbe is more worried about the “Taliban”, as it is not certain that this movement will remain silent in the long run.
“Russia’s lack of support for Armenia caused concern among the country’s partners. It turned out that Russia should not be completely relied on. In such circumstances, Dushanbe is trying to rely on several allies,” says Mullojonov.
FROM COLD CONTACT TO COLLABORATION
The relations between Iran and Tajikistan changed in 2021, after the participation of the President of the Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization . Emomali Rahmon went to Tehran in May 2022 . A week later, Iran announced the opening of the Ababil-2 drone production plant in Tajikistan.
Against the background of the border conflict between Dushanbe and Bishkek and Turkey’s technical support to Kyrgyzstan, Tehran’s move was considered a direct support of Tajikistan.
In July 2023, Iran became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This order became possible after changing the location of Dushanbe and stopping the opposition by joining Iran to this organization.
“It seems that Iran is worried about the activation of Turkey and wants to have a foothold in the region. It is said that Turkey is related to the fastest possible resolution of the conflict between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in order to persuade Tajikistan to join the Turkish alliance. Iran probably looks at this topic with concern,” says expert Parviz Mullojanov.
SUBJECT OF CONTROVERSY
The now-banned Islamic Renaissance Party in Tajikistan has long been a point of contention between Dushanbe and Tehran. The Tajik side asked Iran several times, without disclosing the details, to implement the agreements in the security zone. Experts say that Tajikistan wants Iran to stop supporting this party. Currently, such requests are not heard at the official level.
The relationship between the two countries reached its lowest level in 2015. The authorities in Dushanbe blamed Iran for supporting the HNIT and attempting a coup d’état and fomenting a civil war. Iranian media accused Tajik authorities of stealing millions of dollars from Babak Zanjani, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Iran.
In addition to HNIT and Zanjani, one of the important issues of relations between the two countries is Tajikistan’s loan from the “Sangtuda 2” power plant, which amounts to about 800 million dollars.
Source : Радио Озоди