Shevardnadze delivers Gorbachev’s reply to Khomeini

The Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 598 calling for an Iran–Iraq ceasefire and withdrawal to internationally recognized boundaries, with Soviet support.

Iran notified the UN Secretary-General of its acceptance of resolution 598, moving the peace process toward a ceasefire and easing a major obstacle to regional diplomacy.

The UN-supervised ceasefire began, ending the war’s main fighting and creating a more favourable setting for renewed Iranian–Soviet cooperation.

Khomeini’s letter to Gorbachev challenged Marxist materialism and urged study of Islamic thought, while expressing interest in good-neighbourly relations. The exchange showed that diplomatic contact...

The USSR completed its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, removing a major source of tension with Iran without ending Afghanistan’s internal war.

Iran and the USSR signed a programme of economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation extending to 2000, including a framework for military-technical ties.

Shevardnadze arrived in Tehran for discussions with president-elect Rafsanjani and other Iranian leaders on bilateral ties, Afghanistan and the Iran–Iraq peace process.

The USSR formally dissolved. Iran’s relationship with Moscow entered a Russian phase, while newly independent Caucasian and Central Asian states altered its regional setting.

Iran and Russia signed a protocol on cooperation in nuclear power-plant construction, establishing a framework for post-Soviet nuclear collaboration.

Tajik government and opposition delegations concluded a UN-sponsored ceasefire in Tehran. Its provisions addressed the neutrality of Russian troops and CIS peacekeepers.