Economic Cooperation as Political Insurance

Posted: June 5th, 2016

By Alex Vatanka

Alex Vatanka is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute and at the Jamestown Foundation in Washington D.C. From 2006 to 2010, he was the Managing Editor of Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst. From 2001 to 2006, he was a senior political analyst at Jane's in London (UK) where he mainly covered the Middle East. Alex is also a Senior Fellow in Middle East Studies at the U.S. Air Force Special Operations School (USAFSOS) at Hurlburt Field and teaches as an Adjunct Professor at DISAM at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Vatanka is the author of Iran-Pakistan: Security, Diplomacy, and American Influence (2015). He is presently working on his second book The Making of Iranian Foreign Policy: Contested Ideology, Personal Rivalries and the Domestic Struggle to Define Iran's Place in the World.

Since Iran signed the nuclear deal with world powers in July 2015, Tehran has seen a flood of foreign visitors. Nine heads of state, 16 foreign ministers and dozens of other senior-level officials from across the world have come looking for diplomatic deals and economic opportunities. Iran is open for business and, as of mid-May, Tehran had secured about $3.5 billions in foreign investment since the nuclear deal, and billions more are in the pipelines.

The Rouhani government views these foreign deals not only in terms of monetary and economic value but also with the aim of reducing Iran’s regional and international political isolation. The May 23 tripartite agreement between Iran, India, and Afghanistan is a prime example of this approach. At the heart of this deal sits two of Iran’s key strengths: it’s role as a geostrategic hub and a global energy powerhouse.

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