Foreign relations of Iran

Revision as of 17:33, 16 June 2025 by Adarshatva (talk | contribs) (→‎Diplomatic relations: Added content)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Geography plays a crucial role in shaping Iran's foreign policy. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the newly established Islamic Republic, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, made a significant shift from the pro-American stance adopted by the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Since then, the country's policies have fluctuated between two opposing approaches: one driven by revolutionary zeal to eradicate non-Muslim Western influences while promoting the Islamic revolution globally, and the other focused on pragmatism aimed at fostering economic development and normalizing international relations. As a result, Iran's bilateral interactions can often appear confusing and contradictory.

According to data released by RepTrak, Iran ranks as the second least reputable country in the world in terms of international standing, just above Iraq, a position it has maintained for three consecutive years—2016, 2017, and 2018. The issues of Islamism and nuclear proliferation frequently arise in discussions about Iran's foreign relations. A series of polls conducted by Pew Research in 2012 revealed that only one nation, Pakistan, had a majority of its population supporting Iran's right to develop nuclear weapons. In contrast, overwhelming majorities in other surveyed countries, particularly in Europe, North America, and South America (with 90-95% opposed), rejected the idea of a nuclear-armed Iran. Furthermore, many respondents from various nations, including Americans, Brazilians, Japanese, Mexicans, Egyptians, Germans, Britons, French, Italians, Spaniards, and Poles, showed majority support for implementing "tougher sanctions" against Iran. In contrast, majorities in China, Russia, and Turkey expressed opposition to such sanctions.

Diplomatic relations

List of countries which Iran maintains diplomatic relations with:

 
# Country Date
1   Russia 1521[1]
2   France 13 August 1715[2]
3   United Kingdom 5 June 1807[3]
4   Spain 4 March 1842[4]
5   Netherlands 5 January 1883[5]
  United States (suspended) 11 June 1883[6]
6   Italy 18 February 1886[7]
7   Belgium 18 November 1889[8]
8   Sweden 5 September 1897[9]
9   Bulgaria 15 November 1897[10]
10   Romania 24 July 1902[11]
11   Argentina Template:DTS[12]
12   Greece 19 November 1902[13][14]
13   Brazil 17 June 1903[15]
14   Norway 14 October 1908[16]
15    Switzerland 4 March 1919[17]
16   Afghanistan 2 May 1920[18]
17   Denmark 3 February 1922[19]
  Egypt (suspended) 1923[20]
18   Czech Republic 22 June 1925[21]
19   Austria 26 July 1925[22]
20   Poland 19 March 1927[23]
21   Turkey 21 October 1928[24]
22   Iraq 25 April 1929[25]
23   Japan 4 August 1929[26]
24   Saudi Arabia 24 August 1929[27][28]
25   Finland 12 December 1931[29]
26   Luxembourg 23 May 1936[30]
27   Serbia 30 April 1937[31]
28   Chile 6 June 1944[32]
29   Lebanon 21 September 1944[33]
30   Syria 12 November 1946[34]
31   Pakistan 22 August 1947[35]
32   Iceland 15 March 1948[36]
33   Jordan 16 November 1949[37]
34   India 15 March 1950[38]
35   Indonesia July 1950[39]
36   Venezuela 9 August 1950[40]
37   Ethiopia 1950[41]
38   Hungary 1951[42]
39   Germany 26 February 1952[43]
Template:Country data Holy See 2 May 1953[44]
  Canada (suspended) 9 January 1955[45]
40   Thailand 9 November 1955[46][47]
41   Portugal 15 October 1956[48]
  Morocco (suspended) 5 November 1957[49]
42   Tunisia 5 November 1957[50][51]
43   Dominican Republic 24 October 1958[52]
44   Kuwait 17 December 1961[53]
45   South Korea 23 October 1962[54]
46   Sri Lanka 1962[55]
47   Philippines 22 January 1964[56]
48   Algeria 23 September 1964[57]
49   Mexico 15 October 1964[58]
50     Nepal 14 December 1964[59]
51   Libya 30 December 1967[60]
52   Laos 1967[61]
53   Myanmar 8 August 1968[62]
54   Australia 21 September 1968[63]
55   Eswatini 15 December 1969[64]
56   Malaysia 16 June 1970[65]
57   Malawi 5 April 1971[66]
58   Guinea 26 April 1971[67]
59   Senegal 13 May 1971[68]
60   Mongolia 20 May 1971[69]
  Albania (suspended) title=Iran Almanac and Book o

References

  1. Leandro, Francisco José B. S.; Branco, Carlos; Caba-Maria, Flavius (2021). The Geopolitics of Iran. Springer Nature. p. 25.
  2. "L'audience donnée par Louis XIV à l'ambassadeur de Perse à Versailles" (in français). Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  3. Joseph Haydn (1851). The Book of Dignities Containing Rolls of the Official Personages of the British Empire ... from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time ... Longmans, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 86.
  4. Documentos internacionales del Reinado de Doña Isabel II desde 1842 a 1868 (in español). 1869. p. 1.
  5. Bescheiden betreffende de buitenlandse politiek van Nederland, 1848-1919 tweede periode 1871-1898 · Issue 122 (in Nederlands). M. Nijhoff. 1967. p. 425.
  6. "All Countries". Office of the Historian. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  7. Annuario diplomatico del Regno d'Italia ... (in italiano). Italia : Ministero degli affari esteri. 1931. p. 53.
  8. "تاریخچه روابط سیاسی" (in فارسی). Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  9. Almanach de Gotha (in français). Gotha, Germany : Justus Perthes. 1898. p. 1270. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  10. "Установяване, прекъсване u възстановяване на дипломатическите отношения на България (1878-2005)" (in български).
  11. "Diplomatic Relations of Romania". Ministerul Afacerilor Externe. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  12. Jorge Adrián, Jiménez Hernández (2017). "La geopolítica de Irán hacia Brasil" (PDF) (in español). p. 43.
  13. American Monthly Review of Reviews, Volume 26. Review of Reviews. 1902. p. 669.
  14. Persia and Greece. 22 November 1902. p. 7. Retrieved 13 October 2023. {{cite book}}: |newspaper= ignored (help)
  15. "FM felicitates 120th anniv. of Iran-Brazil diplomatic ties". Mehr News Agency. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  16. "Norges opprettelse af diplomatiske forbindelser med fremmede stater" (PDF). regjeringen.no (in norsk). 27 April 1999. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  17. "Agents diplomatiques en Suisse" (in français). p. 60. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  18. Almanach de Gotha (in français). Gotha, Germany : Justus Perthes. 1923. p. 1237. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  19. "Kongelig dansk Hof- og Statskalender 1923" (PDF). slaegtsbibliotek.dk (in dansk). p. 28. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  20. "EGYPT vii. Political and religious relations with Persia in the modern period". Encyclopedia Iranica. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  21. Nováková, Klára (2014). "Československo-íránské vztahy. Politické a kulturní vztahy v letech 1953-1979" (PDF) (in čeština). p. 17. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  22. Gothaisches Jahrbuch für Diplomatie, Verwaltung und Wirtschaft (in Deutsch). 1927. p. 119.
  23. "Poland in Iran". Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  24. British Documents on Atatürk, 1919-1938, Volume 7. 1973. pp. 5–6.
  25. Chelsi Mueller (2020). The Origins of the Arab-Iranian Conflict Nationalism and Sovereignty in the Gulf Between the World Wars. Cambridge University Press. p. 111.
  26. Bulletin of International News Volume 6, Issue 3. Royal Institute of International Affairs. Information Department. 1929. p. 84.
  27. Dr. Emir Hadžikadunić. "Insight 215: Iran–Saudi Ties: Can History Project Their Trajectory?". Ifimes. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  28. British Documents on Foreign Affairs--reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print. From the First to the Second World War. Series B, Turkey, Iran, and the Middle East, 1918-1939 · Volume 7. University Publications of America. 1986. p. 12.
  29. "History of representation in Iran". Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  30. "Mémorial du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. Samedi, 30 mai 1936". Strada lex Luxembourg (in français). Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  31. "Bilateral cooperation". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  32. Memoria (in español). Chile. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. 1946. p. 559.
  33. Gérard D. Khoury (2004). Sélim Takla 1895-1945 une contribution à l'indépendance du Liban (in français). Karthala. p. 380.
  34. Heads of Foreign Missions in Syria, 1947. Syria from Foreign Office files 1947-1956. 1947. p. 34. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  35. 10th Pakistan Study Model Paper And Guess Papers FBISE. pp. 72/186.
  36. "Iceland - Establishment of Diplomatic Relations". Government of Iceland. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  37. Walter Lippmann; Whitney Hart Shepardson; William Oscar Scroggs (1950). The United States in World Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations. p. 545.
  38. "India-Iran Bilateral Relations" (PDF). mea.gov.in. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  39. "Commemoration of 70 years of Indonesia-Iran diplomatic relations". Tehran Times. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  40. "Venezuela celebra el 72° aniversario del establecimiento de las relaciones diplomáticas con la República Islámica de Irán , con la que consolida una respetuosa y fructífera alianza estratégica, fortalecida con valores de hermandad y paz". Cancillería Venezuela (in español). August 9, 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  41. "Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran - Addis Ababa". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  42. Magyar Külpolitikai Évkönyv 1968-2010 Magyar Külpolitikai Évkönyv 1990 (in magyar). 1990. pp. 85 (164).
  43. "Iran: Steckbrief". Auswärtiges Amt (in Deutsch). Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  44. "Diplomatic relations of the Holy See". Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  45. "Timeline: Canada's diplomatic relationship with Iran". Global News. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  46. "สาธารณรัฐอิสลามแห่งอิหร่าน Islamic Republic of Iran" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  47. "สัมพันธ์"ไทย-อิหร่าน" 400 กว่าปี...มีดีให้สัมผัสที่อยุธยา (in Thai)". 17 June 2012.
  48. "Irão". Portal Diplomatico (in português). Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  49. Annuaire général du Maroc Part 1 (in français). Éditions Paumarco. 1957. p. 23. Iran ... Ambassadeur ... Dr. Hossein Ghadimy-Navay ... 5.11.57
  50. "روابط با ایران". afran.ir (in فارسی). Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  51. The Iranian Journal of International Affairs Volume 6, Issues 1-4. Institute for Political and International Studies. 1994. p. 132. Tunisia . Official Iran - Tunisia ties commenced in 1336 [ 1957 ] . In November of the same year , Iran's Embassy in Tunisia was opened.
  52. "República Dominicana y la República Islámica de Irán celebran hoy 24 de octubre, 66 años de amistad". Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores Republica Dominicana on Instagram (in español). 24 October 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  53. "حدث فى مثل هذا اليوم فى الكويت". Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) (in العربية). 17 December 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  54. "Countries & Regions". Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  55. "Diplomatic relations". Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  56. "The Republic of the Philippines and the Islamic Republic of Iran celebrate 58 years of formal diplomatic relations today, January 22!". 22 January 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  57. Robert Steele (13 June 2024). Establishing Relations (c. 1957–1970) (Part I). Cambridge University Press. Iranian embassy opened in Algiers on 23 September 1964
  58. "Manual de Organización de la Embajada de México e Irán" (PDF). sre.gob.mx (in español). July 2004. p. 7. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  59. "Bilateral Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  60. The White Revolution and Iran's Independent National Policy. Iranian Government. 1973. p. 37.
  61. "Diplomatic Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  62. "Diplomatic relations". Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  63. The White Revolution and Iran's Independent National Policy. Iranian Government. 1973.
  64. The White Revolution and Iran's Independent National Policy. Iranian Government. 1973. p. 46. Swaziland became independent in September , 1968. On 15 December , 1969 , it established diplo- matic relations with the Imperial Government of Iran .
  65. "Treaty of Friendship (with exchange of notes dated at Bang kok on 15 and 16 June 1970). Signed at Kuala Lumpur on 15 January 1968" (PDF). treaties.un.org. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  66. Iran Almanac and Book of Facts. Echo of Iran. 1973. p. 161.
  67. Iran Almanac and Book of Facts Issue 11. Echo of Iran. 1972. p. 260. It was on 26th April 1971, that Iran and Guinea agreed to set up diplomatic relations each other at Ambassadorial level.
  68. Summary of World Broadcasts Non-Arab Africa · Issues 3650-3723. British Broadcasting Corporation. Monitoring Service. 1971. p. 7.
  69. "List of Countries Maintaining Diplomatic Relations with Mongolia" (PDF). p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2021.