Comparative Study on Foreign Policies of Iran and Turkey from Collapse of Soviet Union up to Now (Opportunities and Threats)

Scholars of regional studies consider Transcaucasia (or the South Caucasus) as a region, which consists of three countries including Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. After the collapse of the USSR, Iran and Turkey were to seek their own foreign policy in the South Caucasus based on all common points they had in this region. The main question is to study comparatively the foreign Policies of Iran and Turkey in the region.
We can say that the most significant opportunity for these two countries has been the collapse of USSR and the most serious threat for them has been the risk of the presence of a third power in this region. However, according to the sequence of events addressed in this study, it seems that the most rigorous threat for Iran in the South Caucasus is the security problem and presence of Trans-regional powers, especially in Azerbaijan. In return, Iran, by paying more attention to Armenia, has converted this country into its own source of opportunities in previously mentioned region. Besides, on the one hand, Turkey, because of positive attitude of Azerbaijan to it, have attained a proper opportunity in the South Caucasus. On the other hand, the deadlock between Turkey and Armenia has been the main threat for Turkey’s foreign policy in the South Caucasus. Then Iran's foreign policy orientation has been trying to support Armenia as a barrier between Azerbaijan and its rival, Turkey. Iran's goal is to emphasize the corridor south to north through Armenia, in order to reduce its dependence on Turkey to connect with Georgia and Black Sea littoral states.