Examining Iran's Foreign Policy in the Second Karabakh War

The second Nagorno-Karabakh war in ۲۰۲۰ between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia lasted for ۴۴ days, as a result of which the Republic of Azerbaijan managed to regain its lost territories in the first Nagorno-Karabakh war. This war has transformed the post-Cold War regional power balance and reset the strategic environment of the South Caucasus with the emerging geopolitical and geoeconomic realities. The focal point of the Second Karabakh War was the border wall of Iran. Therefore, the consequences of this war will affect Iran's national security. Nevertheless, the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the Karabakh War and its cease-fire negotiations was not effective. Based on this, in the upcoming research, an attempt will be made to answer the question of why the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran was not successful in the Second Karabakh War. In response to the research question, the hypothesis is raised that the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran did not achieve success despite active neutrality in the ۲۰۲۰ war, the reasons for which can be traced at three domestic, regional and international levels. At the domestic level, factors such as the lack of consensus in foreign policy, the Islamic Republic's secondary view of the South Caucasus, and the issue of ethnicity were effective. At the regional level, factors such as the prominent presence of Turkey and Israel in the Second Karabakh War, suspicion in the relations between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the creation of restrictions by Russia, were influential, and at the international level, the tension in the relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and America and economic sanctions mentioned. The present research method is descriptive-analytical and gathers information using written sources including books, theses, articles, documents and internet data.

Keywords:

foreign policy , Islamic Republic of Iran , Karabakh war , Republic of Azerbaijan , Armenia