BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 8. Iranian Foreign
Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi briefed members of the Iranian
parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee on the
Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea.
This was announced by the Iranian Foreign Ministry following the
relevant meeting held with members of the Iranian parliament’s
National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.
During the meeting, the minister provided additional information
on the “Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea”, the
draft of which was recently submitted to the Iranian
parliament.
During the meeting, the Iranian minister also provided
additional information on the agreement between Iran and Oman on
the Strait of Hormuz, discussions with the countries performing the
mediation mission between Iran and the U.S., Iran’s conditions for
the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization summit, the upcoming BRICS summit, relations with
neighboring countries, bilateral relations, joint projects and
economic diplomacy.
During the meeting, the Iranian parliamentarians expressed
positive views on the economic potential of the territories they
were elected to and relations with neighboring countries.
At the same time, views were exchanged on the issues raised at
the meeting and the importance of continuing cooperation between
the Iranian parliament and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in
ensuring Iran’s national interests was noted.
The Caspian Sea is approximately 1,200 km long, with a maximum
width of 466 km and a minimum width of 204 km. The length of the
sea’s coastline is approximately 6,380 km. There are 5 littoral
countries around the sea – Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan,
Kazakhstan, and Russia.
On August 12, 2018, at the 5th summit of the Caspian littoral
countries (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan)
in Aktau, Kazakhstan, the heads of state signed a convention on the
legal status of the Caspian Sea. Although the convention has been
ratified by the parliaments of 4 countries, it has not yet been
ratified by the Iranian parliament.
The Iranian government approved this convention in the Cabinet
of Ministers on July 22, 2026, and then sent it to parliament.
The share of countries in the convention on the legal status of
the Caspian Sea is intended to be resolved within the framework of
a bilateral agreement between the countries.
