The late Iran President Ebrahim Raisi with Azerbaijan counterpart Ilham Aliyev at a dam project near the border, May 19, 2024. Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran as he returned from the visit.


I joined Rusif Huseynov of the Topchubashov Center in Baku, Azerbaijan for a 22-minute analysis of Iran’s tactics for influence in the South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan and Armenia, and beyond.

We discuss the issues in the region, including the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh; Iran’s approach to escape its economic and political difficulties amid sanctions and isolation; the interaction with other countries such as Russia and China; and the domestic dynamic of the Azerbaijani population in the Islamic Republic.