⏺ Summary of the Caspian Sea Convention:

Before 1991 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, only Iran and the Soviet Union had a presence on the Caspian Sea. The two main treaties from 1921 and 1940 focused more on equality in shipping and the use of the sea, and they did not at all enter the discussion of percentage-based division of the seabed or resources. Because of this, the Caspian Sea effectively functioned as “common property,” not as a situation where a specific share—such as 50 percent—had been recorded for Iran.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, four new countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan) were added to the group of littoral states. From that point onward, the discussion of dividing the Caspian Sea became serious.

The northern countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan) started determining seabed boundaries based on the “equidistant line” method. In an approximate way, this method limits Iran’s share of the Caspian seabed to about 11 to 13 percent.

Then, after that, Hassan Rouhani signed this convention in Kazakhstan in the Iranian year 97 (2018/2019).

Now, all the countries that signed the convention have taken it to their parliaments for ratification, and the Islamic Republic also wants this matter to be approved.