Analysis of the effectiveness of Iran's foreign policy strategies in Turkmenistan and Tajikistan

Iran has close historical and economic ties with Central Asia, which provides a strong foundation for establishing relations with each other. The geographical location of Central Asian countries creates opportunities for cooperation with Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran has increasingly sought to engage in the Central Asian region to secure its national interests and diversify its economy, as well as to avoid global isolation resulting from international sanctions. In recent years, Iran and Tajikistan have increased their mutual cultural and scientific cooperation and projects, and most of these activities have been carried out in Tajikistan. Iran and Turkmenistan have also established bilateral relations after independence. Iran has defended Turkmenistan's "neutrality" foreign policy and its hesitant attitudes towards the independent countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. The present research, using descriptive-analytical approach, seeks to answer the question, what are the strategies of Iran's foreign policy in these two republics? Have the strategies been effective enough to secure Iran's national interests in these two countries or not? The findings of the research show that by analyzing the effective political drivers in the relations between the parties, Iran's foreign policy in the two countries of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan has not been in accordance with the bilateral potentials, and only in the last two years, with the adoption of a look-to-the-east foreign policy, the relations between the parties have taken a development track.