ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS FACTOR IN THE IRAN-TAJIKISTAN RELATIONS

Abstract

During the last thirty years the ethnic and religious factor has had an important impact in the relations between two Iranian-speaking countries, for Iran and Tajikistan. Having cultural, linguistic and ethnic strong ties with Tajikistan, Iran attached great importance to the development of this Iranianspeaking country after the collapse of the USSR. During the civil war in Tajikistan in the 1990s, Tajikistan was particularly important for Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of those countries whose immediate efforts made peace approved in this country after several years of civil war. Heedless of the fact that after the collapse of the USSR relatively warm relationship was formed between Tehran and Dushanbe, thus after the civil war the relations between these two Iranian-speaking countries were developed in an atmosphere of mutual mistrust as a result of policy conducted both by Iran and Tajikistan. Even though in different periods Tehran and Dushanbe tried to build mutually beneficial relationships, the sides did not succeed in continuing such initiatives.