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relations. Hasanov also met Iranian Foreign Minister Velayati and discussed a
forthcoming meeting of foreign ministers of the Caspian littoral states. This will
propose a new ruling on the division of the Caspian. During the visit, the Iranian
parliamentary speaker, Ali Akber Nateq-Nuri, expressed his anger at hostile
Azerbaijani media coverage of Iran.
When Heidar Aliev took power in Baku in 1993 there was relief in Tehran that the
Popular Front regime of Abulfaz Elchibey, with its fiercely anti-Iranian rhetoric, had
at last fallen. Elchibey had aroused great hostility in Iran with his open calls for the
creation of a Greater Azerbaijan, incorporating Azerbaijan and northern Iran. He
had also been especially close to Turkey and supported the creation of a strong
pan-Turkic axis, from Turkey through Azerbaijan and on to the mainly Turkic states
of the former Soviet Central Asia, something that Iran has been anxious to resist.
After Elchibey’s fall, Tehran looked for more stable relations with his successor.
Aliev, with his Soviet nomenklatura background, appeared to be much more dis-
tant from Turkey and looked as though he would draw Azerbaijan closer to Russia
and Iran. However, despite these initial favourable moves (from Tehran’s point of
view), relations have not improved on a long-term basis. Azerbaijan’s relations
with Turkey and the West have improved, while relations with Moscow remain
cool. Adding to the annoyance in Tehran was the fact that in April 1995 Baku
succumbed to Western pressure to cut Iran out of the Caspian Sea oil consortium.
As the latest tensions show, there are still numerous bones of contention between
Baku and Tehran.
Yet, despite friction in relations, the two states have to cooperate, if only for the
sake of their economies. Trade between the two is still increasing. The question of
resources in the Caspian Sea has led to differences in the past. Iran favours the
Russian view that the Sea is in fact an inland lake and that all resources should
be shared between the littoral states. Azerbaijan has been the most vociferous in
asserting its exclusive right to the mineral wealth in what it considers its part of the
Sea, especially now the extent of its oil and gas reserves are known. However,
Iran can only benefit from increased stability in its neighbour to the north.
6: CAMPAIGNS
6.7