Dissolution of USSR changes Iran’s northern neighbourhood

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.

Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze met Khomeini in Tehran and conveyed Gorbachev’s reply, combining discussion of their differing worldviews with renewed bilateral contact.

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.

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.

Russian and Iranian nuclear organizations signed a contract to complete Bushehr’s first reactor unit. The project became a major channel of civilian nuclear cooperation; signing the contract did not...

The United States and Russia signed an aide-memoire restricting future Russian arms sales to Iran, showing Tehran the influence of US–Russian bargaining on its defence partnerships.

Tajik government and opposition representatives signed a protocol in Tehran on guarantees for implementing the peace agreement, advancing a settlement supported by Iran and Russia.