IRANIANS DEFEND USE OF MILITARY MIGHT AGAINST BAKU
TEHRAN-BAKU 26 July (IPS) As the Iranians engaged high profile explanation of their position in the disputed oil fields in the Caspian Sea, the conservatives-controlled press, officials and reformist MMs (Member of the Majles) urged the authorities in Baku to respect former accords regarding the Caspian Sea’s legal status and warned of an "Azeri-British understanding against the Islamic Republic of Iran".
The Islamic Republic of Iran and the staunchly secular Republic of Azerbaijan went Tuesday to the brink of war after an Iranian fighter plane and a military patrol ship threatened at gun point an Azeri hired ship busy carrying feasibility studies for oil exploration in the disputed "Alborz" area that both Tehran and Baku claims sovereignty to stop activities at once and leave the zone.
The root of the dispute comes from the fact that Iran insist that the Sea, the greatest lake in the world, should be divided between the five littoral countries on an equal footing, while Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan favour the internationally agreed principle of to each nation according to the length of its shores, with Russia and Turkmenistan have adopted an ambivalent position in order to please Iran, even though they have entered agreements with Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
In its column "Note of the Day", the radical daily "Keyhan" that speaks for the pro-Khameneh'i faction of the security services said by signing contracts with foreign oil firms, particularly the British ones in the one hand and by deliberately ignoring the 1921 and 1940 agreements (between Iran and the evaporated Soviet Union) on the other, Azerbaijan "not only has violated Iran’s national interests, but also opened the region to foreign appetites".
"The recent visit of (hojjatoleslam) Hasan Rohani, the secretive yet powerful Secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security (SCNS) to three countries of the Caucasus, including Azerbaijan leading a high-level political-security delegation created the impression that Tehran-Baku relations had entered a new era, but unfortunately, Azerbaijan’s latest provocations leading to Iranian (military) measures against the British Petroleum ship that was to take oil in the troubled waters dashed all hopes", the paper wrote.
With typical arrogance of the Iranian ruling ayatollahs when addressing weaker interlocutors, the papers accused the Azeri authorities of "inadvertence" by sending the "Geofizik 3" ship to the Iranian waters, explaining that Azerbaijan could have avoided the incident by "immediately obliging" after they received the first Iranian warning on Saturday and order the ship out of the zone.
Keyhan also complained that an Azeri TV station had "insulted" Iran by referring to the Islamic Republic of Iran as an "evil regime".
It is noteworthy that contrary to pro-conservative press, reformist dailies downgraded the new row between Iran and its neighbour, also dominated by Shi’a Muslims.
Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs Hossein Kazempour Ardebili and Head of the Caspian Sea Research Institute Abbas Maleki as well as several lawmakers accused Wednesday the Republic of Azerbaijan of taking "hasty actions" in oil related issues which they blamed for the country's dispute with all its neighbours.
Speaking separately with the official news agency IRNA, they said that escalation of tension in the Caspian Sea would serve the interests of none of the neighbouring states but foreigners.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran had already informed the British Petroleum (BP) and all the Caspian states, including Azerbaijan Republic, that they do not have the right to encroach into Iran's 20 percent share of the sea for (oil) exploration and other activities concerning marine life and the environment", Mr. Kazempour Ardebili said.
Noting that neither Iran or Azerbaijan Republic do not have the hardware to start drilling operations in the area, he said that Iran has signed a contract with a Swedish company and Azerbaijan with a Singaporean firm to build oil rigs in the Caspian Sea and added that Iran has signed a contract with Shell and Lasmo to carry out seismic studies and exploration of oil and gas reserves in Iran's 20 percent limit.
"Studies carried out so far indicated that the oil and gas reserves in Iran's sector of the sea stood at four billion barrels. There is economic viability to begin development project in Iran's Caspian domain", Mr. Kazempour Ardebili further revealed.
For his part, Mr. Maleki described as "logical and sound" Iranian use of military action, warning it would use force if Azerbaijan would not stop mat once study operations in the disputed zone.
According to IRNA, Mr. Maleki accused Azerbaijan of adopting a "unilateral move" in ceding Alborz oil field to an oil consortium in 1998. The filed has five billion barrels of oil and gas reserves.
But he did not say why Iran did not took action at that time, giving Azerbaijan a full four years to sign contracts with foreign firms to explore for oil in the region
Britain's biggest company signed a Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) with Azerbaijan to be granted exploration, development and production rights for what it described as the Alov-Araz-Sharg area of the Caspian in 1998.
Under the terms of the PSA, the consortium, which includes Statoil of Norway, the Azeri state oil company, SOCAR, and BP as the operator, three wells were supposed to be drilled this year with up to an additional five exploratory wells by 2004.
The five littoral states of the sea are scheduled to meet in the Turkmen capital Ashkhabad in October to decide on a legal regime for the waters.
Rapporteur of the Majlis Foreign Policy and National Security Commission Mrs. Elahe Koula’i said Azerbaijan should pay more attention to regional interests, which also affects its own interests.
"The Republic of Azerbaijan has been trying, particularly after 1994, to expand unilateral exploitation of Caspian sea oil reserves and the Baku consortium accord is the most glaring example of measures adopted by the republic in this respect'', the reformist MM told IRNA.
She said the Republic of Azerbaijan had, regardless of the common interests of other littoral states, embarked on a path which was emulated by other littoral states one after another.
"We are witnessing that, despite claims of the countries to adhere to the 1921 and 1940 protocols, bilateral contracts are being signed for exploitation of Caspian Sea reserves and numerous contracts are signed with the international oil companies; this is in fact total disregard of the exigencies of regional cooperation'' regretted Koula’i.
In recent statements, Mrs. Koula’i had undirectly accused the Iranian Foreign Ministry of "incompetence" warning against relying on Russians in regard to policies towards the newly independent states of Central Asia.
"Those ignoring the geopolitical realities in their policies will sooner or later have to pay dearly", she warned, adding that such measures will prepare the ground for increased influence of foreign countries which "naturally do not share our anxiety''.
Hossseiali Qasemzadeh, a deputy from the northern city of Babol said BP’s "provocations" in the Caspian was to "assess" Iran’s will and potentials in defending its interests. "It is now upon our officials to neutralise this scheme with determination and wisdom", he suggested.
For Mr. Ali Yaari, friendly declarations made by the British Ambassador in Iran, mr. Nick Browne to the Secretary of the SCNS in the one hand and "provocations" in the Caspian Sea by BP are visible signs of an international current aimed at plundering Iranian wealth and cutting Iran’s head with cotton", using an Iranian proverb.
"Azerbaijan is taking advantage from Moscow-Washington antagonism to advance its own interests as well as those of the United States by depriving Iran from the right to defend its own rights", he noted.
Both Tehran and Baku expressed "profound astonishment" over the dramatic turn of situation, with the senior spokesman of Iranian Foreign Ministry regretting the "propaganda campaign" raised by certain Azeri officials regarding oil exploration activities by Azerbaijan in what Iran claims its sector of the oil-rich Caspian Sea.
"We are deeply astonished with Azeri hue and cry against measures taken by the Islamic Republic to defend its legitimate rights" the Iraqi-born Hamid-Reza Asefi told IRNA.
"The Azeri republic and (foreign) oil companies have (now) learned of Iran's diplomatic stances over the Alborz oil field" he said, adding: "The Azeri republic is expected to understand sympathetic pieces of advice given by the Islamic Republic and keep away from any action which may intensify misunderstandings".
Mr. Asefi was reacting to the Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Vilayat Guliyev who insisted that his country would not give in to Iran's claims on its sector of the oil-rich Caspian.
"We will not get into a war with Iran but we will not yield to Iranian menaces either, standing up firmly for our rights" Guliyev had told the French news agency Agence France Presse on Tuesday. ENDS IRAN AZARBAIJAN OIL DISPUTE 26701